Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

$ Nossa Senhora
do Monte
Our Lady of Monte was
inaugurated in 1818,
replacing a 15th-century
chapel built by Adam Ferreira
(the first person to
be born on Madeira –
along with his twin sister,
Eve). The church houses
the tomb of Emperor
Charles I of Austria.
Cable Car Station
^ The cable car’s sleek
steel-and-glass terminus
is the only modern building
in Monte. Along its
route up the wild João
Gomes Valley, you can
see examples of
many protected
species of native
trees and flowers.
Capela da & Coneição
The pretty 18thcentury
Chapel of
Conception stands
in a tree-shaded
square at the eastern
end of the village, near a
miradouro (viewing point)
with views over the João
Gomes Valley.
( Quinta Jardins do
Imperador
Just south of Monte (first
right going downhill
toward Funchal) is the
beautiful mansion where
Charles I lived in exile.
The romantic knot gardens
and lake are slowly
being restored to their
former glory.
) Parque do Monte
This public park was
laid out in 1894 beneath
the stone railway viaduct
now draped in climbing
Monstera deliciosa
plants. Cobbled paths
thread in and out of the
arches into a valley full of
hydrangeas, tree ferns
and massed agapanthus.
% Quinta do
Monte
Recently converted
into a fine hotel
(see p113), the
19th-century Quinta
do Monte sits in
beautiful terraced
grounds, open to
the public during
daylight hours. At
the heart of the
garden is the
Baroque chapel of
the Quinta do
Monte, and below is a
pretty garden gazebo,
now serving teas.
* Fountain Square
Set in a natural
amphitheatre shaded by
giant plane trees,
Monte’s main
square is beautifully
paved with searounded
cobbles.
The square is
named after the
marble fonte of
1897 (left). In its
back wall is a
niche housing a
statue of the Virgin of
Monte – a copy of the
one in the church.
Emperor Charles I
(1887–1922)
Charles I was ruler of an
empire stretching from
Vienna to Budapest.
When it collapsed with
Austria’s defeat in World
War I, he fled into exile,
choosing the tiny island
of Madeira because of
his fond memories of
holidays spent here. His
happiness was shortlived:
arriving on the
island in November
1921, he succumbed to
pneumonia and died in
April 1922. Following
Pope John Paul II’s
decision to beatify him,
pilgrims now regularly
visit his tomb in
Monte’s church.
Madeira’s Top 10 27