Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Nossa Senhora
%
Quinta do
do Monte
OurLadyofMontewas
inauguratedin1818,
replacinga15th-century
chapelbuiltbyAdamFer-
reira(theirstpersonto
bebornonMadeira-
alongwithhistwinsister,
Eve).Thechurchhouses
thetombofEmperor
CharlesIofAustria.
Monte
Recentlyconverted
intoainehotel
(see p113)
,the
19th-centuryQuin-
tadoMontesitsin
beautifulterraced
grounds,opento
thepublicduring
daylighthours.At
theheartofthe
gardenisthe
Baroquechapelof
theQuintado
Monte,andbelowisa
prettygardengazebo,
nowservingteas.
*
Fountain Square
^
Cable Car Station
Thecablecar'ssleek
steel-and-glassterminus
istheonlymodernbuild-
inginMonte.Alongits
routeupthewildJoão
GomesValley,youcan
seeexamplesof
manyprotected
speciesofnative
treesandlowers.
Setinanatural
amphitheatreshadedby
giantplanetrees,
Monte'smain
squareisbeautiful-
lypavedwithsea-
roundedcobbles.
Thesquareis
namedafterthe
marblefonteof
1897
(left)
.Inits
backwallisa
nichehousinga
statueoftheVirginof
Monte-acopyofthe
oneinthechurch.
&
Capela da
Coneição
Thepretty18th-
centuryChapelof
Conceptionstands
inatree-shaded
squareattheeastern
endofthevillage,neara
miradouro
(viewingpoint)
withviewsovertheJoão
GomesValley.
(
Quinta Jardins do
Emperor Charles I
(1887-1922)
CharlesIwasrulerofan
empirestretchingfrom
ViennatoBudapest.
Whenitcollapsedwith
Austria'sdefeatinWorld
WarI,heledintoexile,
choosingthetinyisland
ofMadeirabecauseof
hisfondmemoriesof
holidaysspenthere.His
happinesswasshort-
lived:arrivingonthe
islandinNovember
1921,hesuccumbedto
pneumoniaanddiedin
April1922.Following
PopeJohnPaulII's
decisiontobeatifyhim,
pilgrimsnowregularly
visithistombin
Monte'schurch.
Imperador
JustsouthofMonte(irst
rightgoingdownhill
towardFunchal)isthe
beautifulmansionwhere
CharlesIlivedinexile.
Theromanticknotgar-
densandlakeareslowly
beingrestoredtotheir
formerglory.
)
Parque do Monte
Thispublicparkwas
laidoutin1894beneath
thestonerailwayviaduct
nowdrapedinclimbing
Monstera deliciosa
plants.Cobbledpaths
threadinandoutofthe
archesintoavalleyfullof
hydrangeas,treeferns
andmassedagapanthus.
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