In this category you will find posts about Madeira’s cultural heritage. This includes subjects about Madeira’s music, music instruments, folk dance, art scene and history, and several contributions about Madeira’s never ending festival calendar. We also have the official calendar for you.
Engenhos do Norte Rum distillery In Porto da Cruz, a small village located in the North Eastern part of Madeira, an ancient rum distillery testifies the importance of sugarcane for Madeira. Ancient steam engines set the working pace in this distillery. The original factory workers still maintain and keep the equipment operational. But in spite …
Whales While many visitors prefer to witness sea mammals in their natural habitat, this Whale Museum describes Madeira’s whaling history. Interestingly, whales contribute to Madeira’s economy. However, the relationship changed. First, Madeirans killed whales to earn a living (luckily not as a sport) and now they protect them. Doing so, Madeirans developed a new business; …
Summer months The Summer months from June to September are very festive on Madeira. These are also the harvest months. The festivities are a “reward” for the hard work during the rest of the agricultural cycle / year. Thus, these months are a time filled of joy, celebration, fullness and gratitude. Christianity absorbed these joyous …
Coffee is the heartbeat of the community Coffee is akin to religion (no offense) to many Portuguese. The Portuguese are partially responsible for the universal success of coffee, when Sr de Mello Palheta was sent from Brazil to French Guiana to fetch a coffee plant in 1727. In the following years, the Portuguese established the …
Between 2018 and 2020 Madeira will be celebrating it’s 600th anniversary (that is counting from it’s discovery). Various events and festivities mark the anniversary. Anno 1418 The discovery of the island of Porto Santo belonging to the Madeira archipelago happened 600 years ago, in 1418. The vessels of navigators João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz …
What is Poncha? Poncha is a typical Madeiran alcoholic cocktail. You find it in most bars and cafés and is mostly prepared fresh on demand. The ingredients are lemon, honey and aguardente de cana – sugar cane alcohol. The beverage is highly alcoholic but drinks easily like juice which can be problematic. Hence we advise …
The Chapel of Lady Fatima The full name of the Chapel of Lady Fatima is Capela Torre de Nossa Senhora de Fatima in Sao Vicente. But we will forgive you for not memorizing this. The video below shows the small but beautiful chapel located near the village of Sao Vicente. The chapel of Our Lady …
What to expect The Rota da Cal is a cultural heritage site sprawling over a 12.000m2 area. It developed around two ancient limestone quarries. But on the site you will also find many other constructions with Madeiran heritage. The centre is located in a typical rural environment. The museum preserves some buildings and structures typical …
