Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

The old town of Vila Baleira, capital of Porto Santo
! The Beach
On top of Porto Santo’s volcanic
rocks, limestone, sandstone
and coral were laid down
millions of years ago, beneath a
warm, shallow sea. Falling sea
levels exposed the coral to erosion,
and the result is the magnificent
10-km (6-mile) sweep of
sand that runs along the southern
side of the island. Backed by
dunes and tamarisk trees, the
beach is clean, wild and undeveloped,
but bathers are never far
from a beachside café. Enjoying
the beach may have therapeutic
benefits: burying yourself in the
sand is said to bring relief from
rheumatism and arthritis.
d Map L2
Vila Baleira @ All life on the island centres
on the capital, which sits roughly
halfway along the southern
coast. Pavement cafés fill the
main square, Largo do Pelourinho
(“Pillory Square”), where
offenders were once punished
and public proclamations read
out. The town hall, with its double
staircase flanked by dragon
trees, now stands on the site of
the pillory. The cobbled pavement
in front has a glass-topped,
stone-lined pit, which was once
used for storing grain. d Map L2
£ Nossa Senhora da
Piedade
To the east of the main
square in Vila Baleira
stands the majestic parish
church, Nossa Senhora
da Piedade,
completed in 1446.
Gothic rib-vaulting and
rainwater spouts carved
with human and animal
heads have survived
from this earlier church,
which was torched by
pirates, then rebuilt in
1667. The 17th-century altar
painting of Christ being laid in
his tomb is by Martím Conrado.
The saints on either side were
painted in 1945 by German artist
Max Romer (see p13). d Map L2
$ Casa Museu Cristóvão
Colombo
Christopher Columbus (1451–
1506) came to Madeira in 1478
as the agent for a Lisbon sugar
merchant. Here he met and married
Filipa Moniz, daughter of the
governor of Porto Santo. Their
son was born in 1479, but Filipa
died soon after the birth, and
Columbus left the islands in
1480. The house where he and
Filipa are said to have lived is
now a museum, displaying portraits
of Columbus, maps of his
voyages and models of his vessels.
d Rua Cristóvão Colombo 12 •
Map L2 • 291 983 405 • Open 10am–6pm
Tue–Fri, 10am–1pm Sat & Sun • Free
Casa Museu Cristóvão Colombo
For details of flights and ferries to Port Santo See p103
Around Porto Santo 95