Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

$ Chapel
The chapel contains
the tomb of Urbano Lomelino
(above), an early
sugar merchant. His
descendants moved it
here when they acquired
the estate in 1678.
Picnic by Tomás & da Anunciação
Picnic (above), by the
founder of the Portuguese
school of landscape art,
dates from 1865. The
family of the 2nd Count
of Carvalhal is depicted on
their Quinta do Palheiro
Ferreiro estate (see p24).
( Sugar Box
Furniture
Brazilian sugar put an end
to the Madeiran
sugar trade. The
mahogany boxes
used to transport
the sugar were
turned into the
robust chests
(right) seen in
the basement.
% Trade Goods
Before you enter the
main house, there’s an
exhibition of trade goods
from the 19th-century
Portuguese empire,
including a silk bedspread
embroidered with tropical
flowers, an ivory carving
of a Buddha-like baby
Jesus, and an altar frontal
featuring tigers.
* Palanquin
A palanquin, used in
the 19th century to carry
a wealthy lady around
Funchal, is displayed in the
basement. Also here are
a series of English satirical
engravings poking fun at
Funchal’s well-fed priests
and over-dressed officials.
) Silver Collection
A rich collection of
historic silver is on show
in the basement.
Highlights include a
pair of silver-andebony
Mexican slave
figures (late 18thcentury)
and two
silver-and-coral British
baby’s rattles
(mid 18th-century).
entrance
Key
4
7
0
8
6
Ground Floor
First Floor
5
9
Drawing Rooms ^ Zarco’s original
mansion was a busy
working farm and
administrative centre.
The Lomelino family
radically remodelled the
house in the early 19th
century, filling the wellproportioned
drawing
rooms with English
Chippendale furniture
and fine paintings.
Captain Zarco:
Lord of the Isles
João Gonçalves (nicknamed
Zarco – “Squinter”
– after he lost an
eye at the Battle of
Ceuta in 1415) planted
the Portuguese flag on
Porto Santo in 1419, and
on Madeira in 1420. In
1425 he returned with
people, seeds and tools
to live on Madeira. Zarco
ruled the island’s southwestern
half, while his
fellow captain, Tristão
Vaz, ruled the northeast
from Machico. Zarco’s
half proved to have the
better harbour, which
became the island’s capital.
He died in 1467, at
the ripe age of 80.
Madeira’s Top 10 15