Salão is a freguesia ("civil parish") in the municipality of Horta on the island of Faial, the Portuguese Azores. The population in 2011 was 401, in an area of 10.40 km². History The settlement of Salão can be traced back to 1620, to a Castilian family that moved there from the adjacent community of Santa Bárbara (now the area of Praça in Cedros). The family originally settled there in 1589, but after an acrimonious disagreement between neighbors, the family moved farther south. They constructed a new home in the zone that would be referred to as Carapeta; Carapeta (or Carapeto) is a disused term referring to "one who makes lies or liars". The nucleus of what would develop into Salão started in Carapeta, around the river-valleys that crossed the area. A local fountain () supported the small community (of mostly Spanish settlers) in its infancy, until it was destroyed in the 1926 earthquake. They brought to the island their worship of Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro (Our Lady of Perpetual Help/Aid); a statue was brought from Spain, specifically. The statue was 80 cm tall, can completely covered in gold leaf. Years later the statue was removed and placed in the hands of a local family from Canto, whom conserved the image for many years. By 1640, with the dissolution of the Iberian Union, the Spanish were expelled by inhabitants of Cedros. As the story goes, masked and armed residents of Cedros with pitchforks, sickles, knives and hoes, ordered the local residents to collect their clothing and leave the parish. Driving them towards Horta, the Cedrenses accompanied the Spanish as far as Alto da Ribeirinha (in the neighboring parish of Ribeirinha). As they returned from the expulsion, the inhabitants discovered many of the Spanish clothing lying along the route. From there on, the area became known as Espalhafatos which literally means "scattered suits", referring to the ornamented clothing found scattered along the route. But settlers continued into the area, settling in communities such as Lomba, Barreiro, Cela and Canto: by 1730, Salão became a civil parish. A church, the Church of Nossa Senhora do Socorro (Our Lady of Help/Aid) was constructed in 1780, to replace the older 1727 chapel. It was a simple sanctuary with a single nave and altar, and 24.2 meters (length) by 10.12 meters (wide) dimensions. In 1834, the church received three golden altarpieces from the destroyed Convent