Fishing village and free trade zone Caniçal civil parish was established in 1561. The name comes from a region abundant in small canes, a type of reeds. Since these were many at the time, the place ended up by being called Caniçal, which means plantation of reeds. Caniçal, much like Câmara de Lobos […]
Parish of the fountain The civil parish of Água de Pena was established in 1560 and is one of the oldest of the smallest parishes in Madeira Island. Água de Pena is associated to an event called “Água de Pena”, which means water striking on a living rock. There are accounts that state […]
A parish on the mountain Santo António da Serra is the only civil parish on Madeira island that is divided into two: one belonging to the Santa Cruz municipality and the other to Machico. Truth be told, Santo António da Serra is a very pleasant place, with countless trees and beautiful villages and […]
Airport land It all started with a trunk. That’s right. Imagine that… The civil parish, which today is the chief town of the municipality, started as a dry trunk, with two branches in the shape of a cross. The trunk was found in the laurel forest on the southern coast. The settlement took place right […]
Between the sea and the Mountain Like most of the civil parishes on Madeira Island, Gaula is surrounded by legends. One of them evolves around a novel. Accounts state that Gaula owes its name to the influence of cavalry Romans, namely from the Amadis de Gaula novel. Throughout its history, the parish has […]
Quietness and pleasant weather The name Arco de São Jorge was inspired by the configuration of the surrounding hills, of an arch shaped form. It has its own very particular micro-climate, granting this area exceptional conditions for agriculture and tourism, making this the ideal place to rest in one of the existing local accommodation units. […]
The land of golf Santo António da Serra is located in a plateau, 700 metros above the average sea level, hanging over Machico and Santa Cruz. The ex-libris of this civil parish is Santo da Serra Golf Course, a venue of important world competitions in this area. Santo António da Serra also has beautiful […]
The parish Porto da Cruz A cross found by the navigators, between Ribeira da Manta and Ponta de São Lourenço, is in the origin of the name Porto da Cruz, which means harbour of the cross. Like in Machico, there is a legend behind the origin of this civil parish. There are also […]
Legend and facts Machico stands out due to an historical factor: it was the first place where Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, official discoverers of Madeira Island, first landed in 1419. However, just like in other places full of legends, the origin of Machico also has its own tale. Sometime before the […]
The old centre There are several theories which try to explain the origin of the name São Jorge (Saint George). One of the versions derives from a sailor that would have disembarked there. Another theory states that a certain person gave the name of his son to this land. However, there is a third account, […]
Land of the triangle shaped small houses City and chief town of the municipality, 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 […]
An island on the Island This civil parish in Madeira has an odd name: Ilha (island). Its an island inside another island, with the difference that Madeira is surrounded by the sea, and the civil parish of Ilha is surrounded by streams, united in a single point, and a great deal of vegetation. […]
The hidden parish Imagine a safe place where a pirate from other centuries would not dare to search. There is such a place and it is in Madeira Island. Located far from the sea and protected by high mountains that defend those who live there from invaders, this incredible place is called Curral das […]
Câmara de Lobos is a picturesque civil parish located within a city bearing the same name. The name of this land of fishermen, which has as its main specialty the fishing of the black swordfish, was called this way due to the fact that, around the time the Island was discovered, which took place in […]
Madeira Wine Land When talking about Madeira wine, you have to inevitably recall Estreito de Câmara de Lobos. The connection of this civil parish to the production of wine is so close that the place changes colour twice a year, when the vast extensions of vineyards have their leaves green or purple. According to some, […]
Cherry Ground The main ex libris of Jardim da Serra civil parish is Quinta Jardim da Serra, Boca dos Namorados and the cherries. According to some authors, the name Jardim da Serra derives from Quinta do Jardim da Serra. The farm was built in the 19th century, by Henry Weiteh, up on the mountain. […]
Land of Tranquillity Boaventura civil parish has been known for a long time. However, only the improvement of the accessibilities has enabled it to cease being just a passing place, between Ponta Delgada and Arco de São Jorge. With a mantle of green covering its surrounding slopes and the village’s great tranquillity, Boaventura has […]
The Golden Island Porto Santo is a paradise about one hour away from Lisbon and an average of two and a half hours from the main European cities. The island is well known for the 9 km long sand beach it has. The beach, with its yellow and fine sand, surrounds most of […]
Cabo Girão civil parish
The name of Quinta Grande civil parish is owed to a large property that the Jesuits had there. The Jesuits were Quinta Grande’s first settlers. With time, it would end up by including the locality, which would later rise to the statue of civil parish. A considerable part of the land that today belongs to […]
The “Court of the North” Ponta Delgada civil parish was described by the Portuguese writer Agostina Bessa Luís as the «Corte do Norte» (Court of the North), because of the level of cultural sophistication and nobility of its population. It seems the promontory upon which it is situated will try to detach itself from the […]