Santana owes its name to a chapel in its honour, bearing the name Santa Ana (Saint Ana).

The settlement took place around the year 1550, with people from Braga, from Portugal mainland. For that reason, the local inhabitants have the nickname “Bragados”.

At the beginning of the colonization, the land was allotted amongst noblemen and some bourgeois, with the ownership of plots of uncultivated land. They were bound to clear the land and build houses for people and shelter for livestock.

The civil parish of Santana was established by royal charter on June 4, for a curacy captaincy.

At the time, São Jorge Captaincy installed its headquarters in the Chapel of Santa Ana.

In 1835, Santana became a town, and the chief town of the municipality.

On January 1, 2001, Santana became a city.

Besides the above mentioned information, Santana is also known for its good weather and its rural landscape, and where tradition is still present in the daily life of the city.

Santana is probably one of the most emblematic tourist areas in Madeira Island. All is due to the houses where its people used to live in former times, which ended up by becoming the greeting card by excellence of the destination. These houses are thatched with straw and in the shape of a triangle.