Ribeira da Janela owes its name to the fact that, approximately 100 metres from the river mouth, a small island rises up with an opening, which looks like an open window, hence the name of the stream.
It had an original chapel invoking Nossa Senhora da Encarnação, which already existed in 1558. According to a tradition, this chapel was destroyed by an alluvium resulting from heavy rainfalls, a frequent occurrence in Madeira at that time.
At the end of the 17th century, more precisely in 1699, the people built a chapel which underwent a complete transformation, keeping the original outline until today.
By royal charter of February 4, 1733, a curacy was established, a branch of the parish of Porto Moniz. Over the years, this small curacy slowly gained its freedom from the mother Church.
Historians believe that the first people to settle in Ribeira da Janela were the Portuguese from the southern part of mainland.