Pico Island destination. Because of this award, Pico has been selected for inclusion in the global atlas for sustainable tourism DestiNet. Pico Island Pico Island ("Ilha do Pico," ), is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the tradition of the Portuguese poet, Raul Brandão, Pico is referred to as the Ilha Preta ("Black Island"), for its black volcanic earth, responsible for its UNESCO-designated historical vineyards that allowed the development of the
Norte Grande (Azores) many inactive volcanic cones. The parish is home to a milk processing factory, used in the production of the island's epitimous Queijo de São Jorge, a protected denomination (DOP) of cheeses. Norte Grande is the seat of the "Sociedade Filarmónica Recreio Nortense", founded in 1931, one of the premier philharmonic bands on the island. Norte Grande (Azores) Norte Grande is a civil parish in the municipality of Velas on the Portuguese island of São Jorge in the Azores; owing to the existence of an ecumenical faith community throughout its history, the parish has also taken on the name of its