Funchal
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Funchal | |
---|---|
UTC±00:00 (WET) | |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+01:00 (WEST) |
Postal code | 9000 |
Area code | 291 |
Website | www |
Funchal (Portuguese pronunciation:
Etymology
The first settlers named their settlement Funchal after the abundant wild fennel that grew there. The name is formed from the Portuguese word for fennel, funcho, and the suffix -al, to denote "a plantation of fennel":[3][4]
Funchal, to whom the captain gave this name, because it was founded in a beautiful forested valley, full of fennel up to the sea ...
— Gaspar Frutuoso, 16th century, As Saudades da Terra
History
This settlement began around 1424, when the island was divided into two captaincies. The zones that would become the urbanized core of Funchal were founded by João Gonçalves Zarco who settled there with members of his family. Owing to its geographic location, the site became an important maritime port and its productive soils attracted new settlers.[citation needed] Its coastal position, the most productive on the island, quickly permitted Funchal to develop an urban core and surpass the populations of other settlements.
In the early 15th century, Álvaro Fernandes became the commander of Funchal.
As part of its administrative role, the settlement received its primary lighthouse between 1452 and 1454, when it was elevated to the status of vila and municipal seat. Funchal became an important transfer point for European commercial interests.
During the second half of the 15th century, the sugar industry expanded significantly along the southern coast, from Machico until Fajã da Ovelha, making Funchal the most important industrial centre of the industry. By the end of the century, fronting the
The island, and Funchal specifically, were vulnerable to
The following year, the military architect Mateus Fernandes III was sent to Funchal in order to completely modify the defensive system of the city. Evidence of the work produced by this architect was published in the "Mapa de Mateus Fernandes" (1573), considered to be the oldest plan of the island of Funchal.[5] The document identifies the major defenses of the city, which included a large fortification in the area around the dyke in Pena.
During the 16th century, Funchal was an important stop-over for
The wine culture appeared during early settlement, through the incentives from
A few of the notable visitors to the region were
Geography
Physical geography
Funchal is located inside a natural amphitheatre-shaped valley, with gentle slopes beginning at the coast which rise to 1200 metres and provide a natural shelter for early settlers
In addition to the urbanized area, the municipality includes the
Climate
According to the
The As climate is present in the city of Funchal, in nearby areas of Madeira (such as São Vicente and Machico), the only region in Europe to have this climate (not counting overseas regions such as Azores, which are also part of Portugal but geographically belong to Macaronesia, which have a tropical savanna climate on most of the islands). This tropical climatic region spreads along the coastline around Funchal to Santa Cruz, in the northeast. It is the warmest city in the entire continent, with an annual temperature of 20.1 °C (68.2 °F).
The climate can be divided into two main seasons: a warm dry summer season spanning from May to September with average daily high temperatures ranging from 22 to 26 °C (72 to 79 °F), and a cool wet winter season from October to April with average daily high temperatures ranging from 20 to 25 °C (68 to 77 °F). The city has warm temperatures all year round, and humidity levels remain constantly high at about 70%.
Sea temperatures range from a low of 18 °C (64 °F) in February–March to 24 °C (75 °F) in August–October.[6]
Since the city rises from the sea level up to altitudes of 800 metres (2,600 ft) on its northern slopes, it is quite common to experience cloudiness, fog and rain in the northern suburbs while, at the same time, having clear skies in the south. Temperatures also tend to be slightly lower at the higher altitudes.
Early summer, especially June, tends to be quite infamous due to a phenomenon where persistent cloudiness covers the entire bay area of the city, similar to the June Gloom phenomenon, locally nicknamed "Funchal's helmet". The length and severity of the rainy season varies greatly from year to year.
Climate data for Funchal Observatory, 1991–2020 (extremes 1961-2020), altitude: 58 m (190 ft) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 25.5 (77.9) |
27.0 (80.6) |
30.5 (86.9) |
32.6 (90.7) |
34.2 (93.6) |
34.7 (94.5) |
37.7 (99.9) |
38.5 (101.3) |
38.4 (101.1) |
34.1 (93.4) |
29.5 (85.1) |
26.5 (79.7) |
38.5 (101.3) |
Mean maximum °C (°F) | 21.8 (71.2) |
21.8 (71.2) |
23.2 (73.8) |
24.1 (75.4) |
25.7 (78.3) |
27.5 (81.5) |
29.7 (85.5) |
29.6 (85.3) |
28.8 (83.8) |
27.4 (81.3) |
24.8 (76.6) |
22.8 (73.0) |
31.6 (88.9) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 19.8 (67.6) |
19.8 (67.6) |
20.4 (68.7) |
20.9 (69.6) |
22.1 (71.8) |
23.8 (74.8) |
25.6 (78.1) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.5 (79.7) |
25.1 (77.2) |
22.6 (72.7) |
20.8 (69.4) |
22.8 (73.1) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 17.2 (63.0) |
17.0 (62.6) |
17.5 (63.5) |
18.0 (64.4) |
19.2 (66.6) |
21.1 (70.0) |
22.7 (72.9) |
23.9 (75.0) |
23.6 (74.5) |
22.2 (72.0) |
19.9 (67.8) |
18.3 (64.9) |
20.1 (68.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.6 (58.3) |
14.1 (57.4) |
14.5 (58.1) |
15.1 (59.2) |
16.3 (61.3) |
18.3 (64.9) |
19.8 (67.6) |
20.9 (69.6) |
20.6 (69.1) |
19.3 (66.7) |
17.2 (63.0) |
15.7 (60.3) |
17.2 (63.0) |
Mean minimum °C (°F) | 11.6 (52.9) |
11.3 (52.3) |
11.3 (52.3) |
12.4 (54.3) |
13.6 (56.5) |
15.9 (60.6) |
17.4 (63.3) |
18.7 (65.7) |
18.5 (65.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
13.6 (56.5) |
12.8 (55.0) |
10.3 (50.5) |
Record low °C (°F) | 8.2 (46.8) |
7.4 (45.3) |
7.7 (45.9) |
9.3 (48.7) |
9.7 (49.5) |
12.0 (53.6) |
14.6 (58.3) |
16.3 (61.3) |
14.9 (58.8) |
13.1 (55.6) |
9.8 (49.6) |
8.0 (46.4) |
7.4 (45.3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 98.7 (3.89) |
95.0 (3.74) |
83.4 (3.28) |
61.8 (2.43) |
44.5 (1.75) |
16.8 (0.66) |
3.7 (0.15) |
4.0 (0.16) |
44.9 (1.77) |
117.9 (4.64) |
111.7 (4.40) |
135.3 (5.33) |
817.7 (32.2) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 9.2 | 8.3 | 9.6 | 6.6 | 5.2 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 5.1 | 9.7 | 10.5 | 12.0 | 80.9 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
71 | 70 | 68 | 68 | 70 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 71 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 161 | 167 | 198 | 195 | 209 | 194 | 233 | 237 | 211 | 194 | 166 | 151 | 2,316 |
Average ultraviolet index | 4.0 | 5.9 | 8.0 | 9.7 | 10.4 | 11.0 | 10.8 | 10.1 | 8.6 | 7.2 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 7.8 |
Source 1: Météo Climat[7] Infoclimat[8] (average daily max UV recorded in 2015-2020)[9][10] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: |
Climate change
A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100, the climate of Funchal in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Rabat in Morocco. The annual temperature and the temperature of the warmest and coldest month would all increase by 1.9 °C (3.4 °F), putting the coldest and warmest months above 18 to 24 °C (64 to 75 °F).[14][15] According to Climate Action Tracker, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches RCP 4.5.[16]
Human geography
The urbanised core of the city of Funchal includes several of the civil parishes that surround the municipality (
The municipality (Portuguese: concelho) and city (Portuguese: cidade) are one administrative division, administered by an executive and legislative committee in the city hall. Local communities, are administered at the civil parish levels, through their own legislative bodies and executives. Funchal comprises ten civil parishes (Portuguese: freguesias) based on traditional religious districts (Portuguese: paróquias):
- Imaculado Coração de Maria – a northern suburb, it is one of the smaller parishes in area, with the highest concentrations of residents (6951 residents in 2001);
- Monte – originally a summer refuge for the wealthy, due to its mild climate, Monte is symbolised by the toboggan drivers that race tourists down to the central town; today it is one of the more populated areas of Funchal with over 7500 inhabitants;
- Santa Luzia – one of the four urban suburbs of Funchal, developed from urban sprawl that expanded into the hinterland; today there are more than 6600 inhabitants in these foothills;
- Santa Maria Maior – named from the first episcopal divisions on the island, it along with Sé were the first faith communities to develop, concentrating along the coast in the church of Nossa Senhora do Calhau;
- Santo António – the most populated civil parish in the municipality, developed from the concentration of small artisan shops, that developed until the 16th century; today the population includes approximately 22,000 residents;
- São Gonçalo – named after the explorer Gonçalo Aires Ferreira, in service to João Gonçalos Zarco, the lands of the parish were once the personal domains of this settler, who later took on the anointed name by its residents, due to his piety;
- São Martinho – its first settler Afonso Anes was responsible for the first artisanal and commercial buildings in the area, that was primarily sagricultural in scope; today the highly urbanized area pertains to 20,000 inhabitants and includes the hotel zone of Funchal known as Lido (named after the Lido Bathing Complex);
- São Pedro – central to the business and residential character of Funchal, São Pedro is a bedroom community of Sé, with 7681 residents;
- São Roque – deannexed from Sé under the authority of Cardinal Infante Henriques, the prelate of Funchal constructed this parish from sections of São Pedro and São Martinho;
- Sé – the historical centre of Funchal, and most developed, including many of the older buildings; its population is less than 2148 residents (2001).
Transportation
Madeira Airport, often known as Funchal Airport (code: FNC) and officially Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, is located east of the city, in the municipality of Santa Cruz. The airport was one of the most dangerous airports in the world[17][18] due to the limited flat space in close proximity to cliffs, but the extension of the runway on concrete pillars in the sea has improved safety.
The Port of Funchal was the only major port in Madeira. Since 2007 it has been fully dedicated to passenger transport (cruise ships and ferries) and other tourist-related boats and yachts. In that year all remaining fishing activity and cargo trade was moved to the newly developed port of Caniçal, 12 mi (19 km) to the east.[19]
A ferry service between Funchal and Portimão, on the mainland, provided by Naviera Armas sailed weekly from 2008, but was discontinued in 2013 due to a dispute over harbour fees. In summer 2018 it was re-instated, but as a seasonal service from July to September, being operated by Grupo Sousa using Naviera Armas's ship Volcán de Tijarafe, that provided the crossing prior to the 2013 discontinuation, with a maximum speed of 23 knots. The crossing takes around 24 hours.[20]
A ferry runs in two hours between Funchal and
A
Tourism
Today Funchal is a major tourist town, with hotels, port, and an international airport
Besides the city of Funchal, tourist destinations include:
Museums
Funchal has many Museums, such as the:-
- Casa-Museu Frederico de Freitas
- Núcleo Museológico da Cidade do Açúcar
- Museu Barbeito
- Museu CR7
- Museu de Electricidade (Museum of Electricity)
- Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Funchal
- Sacred Art Museum of Funchal
- Museu de Fotografia – Vicentes
- Museu do Forte de S. Tiago
- Museu do Vinho da Madeira
- Museu Henrique e Francisco Franco
- Museu de História Natural do Funchal
- Museu Quinta das Cruzes
- Museu Sala de Troféus do Clube Sport Marítimo
- Núcleo Museológico do IVBAM
- Núcleo Museológico do Museu Militar Palácio São Lourenço
- Núcleo Museológico Mary Jane Wilson
Religion
Funchal Baptist Church was established in Madeira in 1976. It is located at Rua Silvestre Quintino de Freitas, and provides English services in the morning and Portuguese in the evening.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established on Madeira in 1983. A few congregations have developed and a number of island converts have served missions off-island for the church in turn. Its main chapel in Lido was commenced in 1987 and dedicated a few years later.
The
Sport
Funchal has three association football clubs: Marítimo, Nacional and União. Together they form the Madeira derby which was first played in 1981 due to the teams being in different league levels for 7 decades.
Street art
Since 2011, the project "ArT of opEN doors project in Rua de Santa Maria" has been implemented in Funchal.[24][25][26][27][28][29] The aims of the project is to "open" the city to artistic and cultural events. The project was born by the hand of many artists who were coordinated with the city council and decided to take it out on the streets of the Old Town, particularly in the Rua de Santa Maria.The doors of houses, abandoned shops, deteriorated areas received a new life, in order to sensitize people, towards the art and culture that fills these spaces.
Twin towns – sister cities
- Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Fremantle, Australia
- Gibraltar, Gibraltar
- Herzliya, Israel
- Honolulu, United States
- Ílhavo, Portugal
- Leichlingen, Germany
- Livingstone, Zambia
- Marrickville (Inner West), Australia
- Maui County, United States
- New Bedford, United States
- Oakland, United States
- Praia, Cape Verde
- Saint Helier, Jersey
- Santos, Brazil
- Vigan, Philippines
Notable people
Public service
- Arsénio Pompílio Pompeu de Carpo (1792–1869), slave trader, freemason, poet and journalist
- James Yate Johnson (1820–1900), English naturalist, lived in Madeira from 1851
- José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage (1823–1907), Portuguese zoologist and politician
- Arthur Phelps(1837–1920), British civil engineer, homeopath and anti-vaccinationist
- Archbishop of Goa
- Sara Forbes Bonetta (1843–1880), goddaughter of Queen Victoria, died of tuberculosis
- Sir naval officer, politician and abolitionist
- Charles, Count de Lambert (1865–1944), an early European aviator
- Adolfo de Noronha (1873–1963), Portuguese naturalist
- Leontina de Cabral Hogan (1886-1943), medium and feminist
- shadow puppets
- Maria Teresinha Gomes (1933–2007), spent 20 years as a male army general
- Alberto João Jardim (born 1943), President of the Regional Government of Madeira, 1978–2015
- Joe Berardo (born 1944), Portuguese and South African businessman, and art collector
- Ilse Everlien Berardo (born 1955), German Lutheran theologian, responsible for the local German-speaking Protestant Church
- Humberto Barbosa (born 1961), Portuguese nutritionist
- Miguel Albuquerque (born 1961), politician, current President of the Regional Government of Madeira
- Berto Correia de Sousa (born 1972), Portuguese-Swiss bank manager in Zurich, noble roots
- Liliana Rodrigues (born 1973), politician and Member of the European Parliament
- Rubina Berardo (born 1982), Madeiran and Portuguese politician and pundit
Arts
- Virgilio Teixeira (1917–2010), film, TV and stage actor
- Maximiano de Sousa(1918–1980), Portuguese singer, known as Max
- Herberto Hélder (1930–2015), Portuguese surrealist and experimental poet
- António da Cunha Telles (born 1935), Portuguese film director and producer
- Maria Aurora (1937–2010), journalist, poet, novelist, children's writer and TV presenter
- Nini Andrade (born 1962) interior designer and painter
- Fátima Lopes (born 1965), fashion designer
- Kátia Aveiro (born 1977), singer and sister of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo
- Pedro Camacho (born 1979), composer of classical and religious music and film scores
- Carlos Nóbrega (born 1979), singer, songwriter, actor, photographer and writer
- Fabio Machado (born 1985), Portuguese mandolin virtuoso
- Vânia Fernandes (born 1985), singer and 2008 Eurovision Song Contest competitor
- Giullia Buscacio (born 1997), Portuguese Brazilian actress
Sport
- Cristiano Ronaldo (born 1985), footballer and longtime captain of the Portugal national team
- Artur de Sousa Pinga (1909–1963), footballer and later coach of FC Porto
- Marco Paiva (born 1973), retired footballer with 528 club caps
- Catarina Fagundes (born 1977), the first Portuguese female sailing athlete, entered the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Márcio Abreu (born 1980), Portuguese footballer with 505 club caps
- Rúben Andrade (born 1982), retired footballer with 491 club caps
- cricketer, moved to Australia aged one
- Marcos Freitas (born 1988), European Champion table tennis player
- Laura Luís (born 1992), football forward, with 49 caps for the Portugal women's team
- Fátima Pinto (born 1996), the first footballer from Madeira in a UEFA Women's Championship
- Telma Encarnação (born 2001), footballer who plays for the Portugal women's team
See also
References
- ^ "Funchal: Resultados Provisórios". Instituto Nacional de Estatística. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Cruise tourism in Portugal | PIANC Mediterranean Days" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ Frutuoso, G.; de Azevedo, A.R. (1873), As Saudades da terra (in Portuguese), Typ. funchalense, p. 39
- ^ "Funchal. I Origem do nome" (PDF). nesos.madeira-edu.pt. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Cidade do Funchal e a sua Evolução Espacial". Archived from the original on 7 June 2007.
- ^ "Funchal Sea Temperature". seatemperature.org. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Météo Climat stats Portugal (Madère)" (in French). Météo Climat. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Climatologie de l'année à Funchal/S. Catarina" (in French). Infoclimat. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Índice Ultravioleta, na Estação Meteorológica Funchal / Observatório - 2015-2020". Direção Regional de Estatística da Madeira. Retrieved 10 January 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Série retrospetiva da informação meteorológica (1976-2019)". Direção Regional de Estatística da Madeira. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Funchal Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ "Monthly Averages for Funchal". DwD.
- ^ "Monthly Averages for Funchal". DwD.
- PMID 31291249.
- ^ "Cities of the future: visualizing climate change to inspire action". Current vs. future cities. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
- ^ "The CAT Thermometer". Retrieved 8 January 2023.
- ^ Jhaveri, Vidhi. "16 Most Dangerous Airports of The World for Runway Thrills!". holidify. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ Kilo, Sierra (17 August 2020). "Top 10 most dangerous airports in the world 2020". Aviatech Channel.
- ^ "Portos da Madeira" (in Portuguese). Administração dos Portos da Região Autónoma da Madeira. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012.
- ^ "Ferry Madeira-Portimão: Bilhetes disponíveis a partir de hoje A primeira viagem realiza-se a 2 de julho mas os bilhetes vão estar disponíveis já a partir desta terça-feira (Vídeo)". 12 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "madeira-web.com – Things to do: "Lobo Marinho"". madeira-web.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ "The Church". Holy Trinity Church, Funchal. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
- ^ Dysch, Marcus (7 April 2009). "Madeira: Peace in the land of Ronaldo". The Jewish Chronicle Online. Archived from the original on 2 May 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
- ^ "Projecto artE pORtas abErtas - Funchal - Projecto artE pORtas abErtas - Funchal". www.arteportasabertas.com.
- ^ "Open Doors Art in Funchal ::". www.world-in-words.com.
- ^ "Painted Doors Project". www.visitmadeira.pt.
- ^ "Opening Doors With Art In Madeira, Portugal". HuffPost. 13 July 2012.
- ^ "The painted doors of Funchal". Travelling Claus. 11 November 2014.
- ^ "ArT of opEN doors". 24 August 2014.
- ^ "Acordos de Geminação". cm-funchal.pt (in Portuguese). Funchal. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
Sources
- Fructuoso, Gaspar (1966) [1873]. Saudades da Terra (in Portuguese). Vol. 2. Ponta Delgada, Azores: Instituto Cultural de Ponta Delgada.