In Faia, the abbot recorded no ruins

In the account signed on 23 May 1758, Faia’s abbot stated that the earthquake had caused no destruction. It offers a counterpoint to Alvite’s testimony, which described damage to crosses on a chapel. The absence of ruins in the account does not prove that the earthquake went unfelt: it shows what was recorded in that answer. Reading both documents brings general history closer to local experiences.

It is useful to notice who wrote the answer and when: João de Lima Lobo de Noronha, abbot of Faia, responded to a set of questions also covering settlements, crops, fairs and mail. The earthquake is one subject in that local portrait. The 1758 signature dates the testimony, not the event it recalls.