Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

$ North Aisle
Madeira’s trade links
with Antwerp are reflected
in an unusual 16thcentury
brass Flemishstyle
memorial set in the
floor to the west of the
first chapel. The brass
depicts the fashionable
merchant Pedro de Brito
Oliveira Pestana and his
wife Catarina.
( Altarpiece
The huge altarpiece
(above) was made in Lisbon
in the early 16th century.
Set within its ornate
Gothic frames are 12
scenes from the lives of
Christ and the Virgin.
) East End
Go outside to the east
end for the best view of
the spire, and for the bravado
display of barleysugar
pinnacles and
pierced balustrades.
% Ceiling
Madeira’s native cypress
trees were used to brilliant
effect in the construction
of the ceiling of the nave,
aisles and transepts
(above). It is one of the
finest examples in Portugal
of the alfarge, or
“knotwork”, style, which
blends Moorish and European
elements.
& Sanctuary
The nautical theme
continues on the gilded
ceiling of the sanctuary
(right), where a carving of
an armillary sphere (a navigation
aid) can be seen
among the painted cherubs
and floral swags.
* Seating in the
Sanctuary
Carved in 1510–11 by
Olivier de Gand, a
Flemish sculptor, the
bold blue-and-gold choir
stalls depict saints and
prophets dressed in the
elaborate attire of prosperous
merchants.
South Transept ^ Sunlight floods
through the transept windows
to light up the timber
ceiling with its
everlasting knots forming
arabesques and stars.
Faded figures around
the edge of the ceiling
depict Fortune holding a
billowing sail, centaurs
and fish-tailed mermen.
Knotwork Ceilings
Funchal cathedral has
one of the richest and
most elaborate of Portuguese
knotwork ceilings,
comparable in
splendour to the ceiling
of the Chapel of the
Royal Palace at Sintra.
Funchal’s delirious and
dizzying pattern of knots
and lozenges, with projections
similar to stalactites,
is based on the
rich geometric art of
medieval Islam. Much
of Portugal was under
Moorish rule from AD
711 to AD 1249, and the
Moors also ruled over
Andalusia in Spain until
1492, precisely one year
before work started on
this cathedral.
Bring binoculars if you want to see the finer details of the ceiling
and altarpiece. Allow time for your eyes to adjust to the gloom.
Madeira’s Top 10
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