In Search Of ‘Cultural’ Madeira

If you fall into the trap of summarising Madeira as, ‘that place with the downhill wicker sledges and wonderful Botanical Gardens’, then you come dangerously close to insulting the entire arts fraternity on what is, perhaps, one of the most culturally savvy islands south west of Lisbon.

An autonomous region of Portugal, this tropical archipelago comprises four islands off the north west coast of Africa – only two, including neighbouring Porto Santo, are inhabited – and is famed for its green, rugged landscapes, pebbly beaches, namesake wine and traditional embroidery.

However, too many people, particularly ‘cruisers’, are in the habit of visiting the island for 24 hours at best, taking the cable car to the church of Nossa Senhora do Monte, – last resting place of Charles of Habsburg, last emperor of Austria and inhabitant of the island - before traversing its cobbled streets in a traditional wicker sledge and back to the ship in time for tea!

Big mistake!

For the more savvy – certainly those who have invested in Madeiran property over the decades – this is a place where real estate prices have rocketed as it has slowly, but methodically, become a haven for well-to-do Europeans keen to escape harsh winter climates, in favour of pleasant all-year-round temperatures.

And there is a cultural scene to support the 'long stayers', even if Madeira's all-natural rocky coastline struggles to produce anything other than a man made 'yellow' beach.

“We began as cruisers,” said Mary and Joe from Northumberland, “but, we loved it so much that we returned for a week and then again for a fortnight. We both took early retirement and it’s a great place to chill out. There’s always something happening.”

We’d bumped into each other outside the Bureau de Change just off the main thoroughfare, Avenida Arriaga.

“We get lulled into thinking that everyone is on touch cards, like they are in the UK,” bemoaned Mary, “but here, cash is still king and you forget at your peril. We simply couldn’t buy a bus ticket using our cards or phones so, here we are getting some Euros!”

But, practicalities to one side, there is, seemingly, something happening all the time in and around Funchal, and Madeira might be better known as the island of festivals!

Grand Teatro Dento - street entertainment extraordinaire!

There’s the July Jazz Festival, the August Folk Dancing Festival, the November Piano Festival, Madeira Street Festival, October is for brass bands and organs and, as if that weren’t enough, you can also take the two-and-a-half-hour ferry sailing to Porto Santo each September, and partake of the Colombus Festival.

And, whilst much of the cultural calendar is still centred on the capital, Funchal, great strides have been taken by tourist chiefs to ensure that ‘culture’ has been carefully ‘shared’ beyond the capital city, first given its status by King Manuel I in 1508.

This is probably best exemplified by the AP_ARTE Project, an initiative by the Madeira Promotion Bureau in collaboration with the Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Culture, and the Regional Directorate for Culture.

This so-called ‘disruptive’ project, in which a series of 30 short videos have been produced to highlight unique artwork found in seven of Madeira’s distinctive cultural spaces, aims to disseminate and promote the rich cultural heritage of the Autonomous Region.

The operative word here, of course, is ‘disseminate’. It is almost the island’s way of saying: ‘culture no longer starts and finishes in Funchal! Look beyond’.

And so, with that in mind, Mrs H and myself said hello Funchal....

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• Funchal City Hall in Municipal Square
• A slice of 19th century Madeira at The Golden Gate
• The Golden Gate - Funchal's oldest cafetaria dating back to 1841
• The 'Doors with Art' project on Rue de Santa Maria in the Old Town
• The 2010 'Doors with Art' project brought a new vibrancy to Rue de Santa Maria
• Funchal market
• The Religion, Politics & Justice sculpture near the Legislative Assembly building
• ....don't we all!

…..then with little further ado, put our best feet forward (with the aid of a taxi!) and set out for a week of ‘cultural exploration’ that took us to the outreaches of this glorious island.

The Madeira Ethnographic Museum

First stop the municipality of Ribeira Brava where a baroque house cum ancient sugar mill has been home to the Madeira Ethnographic Museum since 1996.

This small, but beautifully curated building, provides a fascinating insight into island life hundreds of years earlier, when fishing, linen and cereal production were mainstays of daily life. There is even a resident weaver using traditional equipment

Museum of Contemporary Art

But an absolute gem has to be the Muda. Museum of Contemporary Art with its 400-piece art collection from the 1960’s to modern day.

Conceived by architect Paulo David, this modern building – with clifftop views to die for – has won international recognition for both its architecture and perfect integration into the landscape.

It hosts various exhibitions, musical performances, plays and conferences and is located on a hill overlooking the village of Calheta, with its artificial yellow beach specially imported from Morocco, to the west of the island, just over 30 minutes from Funchal.

Interestingly, it was formerly located in the capital’s Fort of São Tiago before moving to its current home, a perfect example of the drive that has been taking place to ‘equalise’ where the island’s shared culture is actually located: well worth a visit.

The Municipality of Calheta is also a place for mountain biking, paragliding, surfing, sports fishing and whale watching.

A Balanced Visit

These days Madeira provides the perfect opportunity for a ‘balanced’ visit in that it doesn’t need to be all about Funchal.

That said, the capital is a great place to spend time be it checking out the Cathedral at the end of Avenida Arriaga, or simply pondering the wonderful painted doors of Rue de Santa.

They were part of the 2010 'Doors with Art' project, instigated by a former city father, whose idea it was to cascade tourist interest away from the centre, and down to its peripheries by the Mercado Dos Lavradores farmers’ market.

And there’s no shortage of performances in the capital.

I managed to take in the wonderful Madeira Mandolin Orchestra, founded in 1913, and now billed as Europe’s oldest and youngest such orchestra, because it is more than 110 years old and has members as young as 12.

There were classical concerts at the English Church and other opportunities to hear music and performance at the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias.

In fact, it was all around us, even in the avenues, as the island’s Street Festival strutted its stuff at points across the city centre.



Not forgetting of course, the equally magical Madeira Photography Museum – Atelier Vicente’s, which operated as a working studio from 1863-1978 and gives a snapshot of Madeiran life more than a century and a half ago.

The Vine Hotel

The Vine Hotel

The Laurel Forest Valley

But away from Funchal, where we laid our heads at the wonderful Vine Hotel, our comfortable base for the week, there were viewing platforms and fascinating places to behold like Santana's traditional Portuguese houses.

Apart from being more than two centuries old, these traditional houses stand out remarkably amongst the local landscape thanks to their quirky triangular architecture and chocolate box gardens.

A visit to the likes of Porto da Cruz's Engenhos de Norte distillery will enable you to observe rum production at close quarters.

...and then there's the food!

The Vine - a hotel for the sweet of tooth!

There are so many restaurants offering a range of different cuisines.

A number are listed in the Fast Facts section below and all of them would work well if allied to a ‘cultural’ stay, since each one of them represented a good quality dining option with, occasionally, a view to die for.

A case in point being the cliff side Sol Poente restaurant at Ponta Do Sol where you can sample a local favourite: black scarbbard fish with banana!

Sol Poente restaurant at Ponta Do Sol

Black Scarbbard fish with banana

My Favourite Destination

People often ask me ‘which is your favourite destination’ and it is an almost impossible question to answer, but I have to say that I never tire of Madeira, and will tire of it even less now that I have been afforded an opportunity to view its cultural underbelly and a larger part of this multi-faceted destination.

This is an island with two sides. At times it can be overtly touristy because it has to be: the wicker sledges, cable car, ‘Monte’ church and its Botanical Gardens have become a staple diet for newby visitors, who are promoted to incessantly by cruise ship excursion staff.

But, I invite you to open your eyes. Madeiran culture is all around you. It’s fairly priced, accessible and there’s plenty of it. And, throw in for good measure, some great food, breathtaking views and even the Cristiano Ronaldo football story, and you might say that Madeira is a hat trick in the making!

FAST FACTS
Overview Madeira - www.visitmadeira.com
The Vine Hotel, Funchal www.hotelthevine.com

MUSEUMS...
Madeira Ethnographic Museum - here
Madeira Museum of Contemporary Art - here
Madeira Photography Museum - Atelier Vicente's - here
For other Museums - here

MUSIC...
The Madeira Mandolin Orchestra - here
On At The English Church – Holy Trinity, Madeira - here

MADNESS...
Madeira Street Arts Festival on Instagram - here

MADEIRA RUM!
A Rum Experience – Engenho do Norte - here

FOOD OFFERINGS!
Design Centre – Nini Andrade Silva - here
Sol Poente Restaurant - here
Museu Café - here
Theo’s by Chef Júlio Pereira - Portuguese cuisine - here
Quinta do Furão Restaurant - here