Praia Grande e Penha 南西灣及主教山區

Setting and landscape

Penha Hill is the third-highest hill on the Macau Peninsula at 62.7 metres. It borders the Inner Harbour on the west, faces the Praia Grande bay in front and joins Barra Hill (媽閣山) to the southwest; today it is one of the peninsula's upmarket residential areas. Its Chinese name, 'West Ocean-Viewing Hill', pairs it with Guia Hill (東望洋山), and it is commonly called Bishop's Hill (主教山) because the Catholic bishop's residence stood on the top.

Below the hill lay two bays. Praia Grande, Nam Van (南灣) in Cantonese, was an anchorage for merchant ships, and its shore was the city's political and commercial centre; the eastern waters were filled in during the 1930s, and the rest was turned into the artificial Nam Van Lake in the 1990s. Sai Van (西灣), the southernmost bay of the peninsula and a residential shore, had its southern side filled in during the 1990s, which turned it into the artificial Sai Van Lake. Its shoreline is now Avenida da República (民國大馬路), and the old sea wall survives only south of the Government Headquarters.

What to see

The Chapel of Our Lady of Penha (西望洋聖堂) was founded in 1622 beside a fort built that year against the Dutch. Macau's heritage list records that Augustinian friars built it and dedicated it to the protector of seafarers; it was built to fulfil a vow made by Portuguese sailors who had met Dutch pirate ships and escaped unharmed, and at first it served the soldiers of the fort. After the fort was pulled down in 1892 the chapel was gradually enlarged, and in 1935 Bishop José da Costa Nunes (高若瑟) had it rebuilt together with the bishop's residence in their present form. The Gothic spire reflects a classical eclectic style, and the chapel and residence are listed as buildings of architectural value. A marble statue of the Virgin stands in front, and a Lourdes grotto is nearby.

Every 13 May a statue of Our Lady of Fatima is carried in procession from St. Dominic's Church (玫瑰聖母堂) up to the chapel, one of Macau's main religious events. On the southeastern foot of the hill, Bomparto Fort (燒灰爐炮台) already existed in 1622 and is described in Macau's heritage list as possibly Macau's oldest fort; disused since 1892, it is now part of the residence of Portugal's consul-general, which stands on the site of the former Bela Vista Hotel (峰景酒店).

Highlights

• Chapel of Our Lady of Penha 西望洋聖堂: Founded in 1622 and rebuilt with the bishop's residence in 1935; goal of the 13 May Fatima procession.
• Penha Hill 西望洋山: Third-highest hill on the Macau Peninsula at 62.7 metres, known as Bishop's Hill.
• Former Bela Vista Hotel 峰景酒店: Listed among Penha Hill's historic sites; the Portuguese consul-general's residence now stands on its site.