Altinho

Altinho

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Many years ago Panaji was a Portuguese colony. Back then Altinho, which is located atop the hillock of Panaji was regarded as an elite residential colony where the State's chief ministers resided and so did the Archbishop?s palace. Altinho gets its quirky name from the Portuguese language, where it means 'high?'or 'tall' (as it is located atop a hillock). The hill is divided into two parts where the road which is moving up the hill on the right side of the church is called the Emidio Gracis Road. The other road which goes into the main town where on the top of the hill near the church is the 'Hill of the Pilots' since the first lighthouse was operated from here. There are many old buildings, quarters for government servants and colleges here. The Patriarchal Palace which is the residence of the Archbishop of Goa is the main attraction here. The diocese of Goa was established here in the year 1533, and raised to an Archdiocese in 1557. Dom Caspar Leao Pereira sometime in the 1560's, the first Archbishop to step in India, took lot of trouble and hard work to build the first church here. The All India Radio station is also located over this area with red earth lines of pathways webbed in the green sprawl of the lush vegetation with the tall palm fronds brushing the azure sky. Attached to the radio station is the Television Relay Center dominating the skyline, and on the slopes of the hill is the bright and colourful Maruti Temple.