Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

Madeira’s Top 10
16
Left Lower choir Middle 17th-century carpet tiles, Santa Clara Church Right Upper choir
Convento de Santa Clara, Funchal
! Gateway
The arms of the Order
of St Francis are carved
on the 17th-century
stone roundel above the
ancient wooden doors of
the convent gateway.
Ring the bell here
to be admitted. d
Calçada de Santa Clara 15
• Map N2 • 291 742 602 •
Open 10am–noon, 3–5pm
Mon–Sat, 10am–noon Sun • Admission €2
@ Cloister
This peaceful spot provided
access to chapels and oratories
where the nuns could pass the
day in prayer. From here you can
admire the cupola of the convent’s
bell tower, decorated with
rare 17th-century blue, white and
gold ceramic tiles.
£ Abbess’s Grave
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A gravestone with Gothic
script marks the burial place of
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Cloister
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Santa Clara Convent
the convent’s first abbess,
Isabel de Noronha, and
her sister, Constança.
As a sign of their
humility, these
high-born ladies
(whose grandfather
was Zarco – see p36)
chose to be buried in a
corridor where nuns
would walk across their
graves each day.
$ Upper Choir
Green Moorish tiles cover the
floor of this long room, with its
knotwork ceiling and gilded altar
housing a statue of the Virgin. This
choir was the place of daily prayer
for the first community of Poor
Clare nuns (the sister order to
the Franciscans), who came to
Santa Clara from Portugal in 1497.
% Lower Choir
The lower choir is lined with
wooden choir-stall chairs dating
from 1736, carved with winged
cherubs and amusing animal
heads. The painted throne was
reserved for the use of the
bishop and the head of the
Franciscan order when either
visited the convent.
^ Grille
Through the iron grille set in
the eastern wall of the lower choir,
the congregation could hear the
sweet singing of the nuns, and
the nuns could hear the priest
say mass. The nuns had no other
contact with the outside world.
From the Quinta das Cruzes (see pp14–15), take the Calçada do
Pico towards Funchal; the convent will be on your right.
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