Funchal

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Coat of arms	Flag
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Statistics
Region:	Madeira Islands
District:	Madeira Island
Population:	100,847
Area:	75.7 km²
Density	1,332/km²
Altitude:	Lowest and Centre: Atlantic Ocean Highest: Pico do Arieiro South Face 1,818 m (northwest)
Number of parishes:	10
Address of the city administration:	Câmara Municipal de Funchal Paços do Concelho Funchal 9000
Mayor:	Miguel Filipe Machado de Albuquerque
Website:	www.cm-funchal.pt

Funchal at night

Funchal (pron. IPA [fũ'ʃaɫ]), population approximately 140,000, is the capital of the Madeira Islands of Portugal. Funchal is also the largest city on the islands and is ranked after Câmara de Lobos and Machico in area. It was founded by João Gonçalves Zarco in 1421 and was elevated to city by King Manuel I in 1508.

The city is named after fennel, ('funcho' in Portuguese), which grows in abundance on the island. Funchal is located 21 km south of Faial, about 25 km S of Santana, 17 km SW of Machico, about 7 km E of Câmara de Lobos and about 37 km ESE of Calheta. Part of Funchal Municipality is Ilhas Selvagens (Savage Islands ), one nature reserve 160 km (100 mi) South of Funchal.

Funchal has an abundant amount of trees. However, due to extreme deforestation, the amount of trees in Funchal has decreased dramatically.

The mango and the papaya are two delicious fruits one can come across in the exotic Portuguese city of Funchal. The mangos and papayas are similar to the ones found in Estreito de Camara dos Lobos.

Funchal is bypassed by Madeira's only superhighway to the north east and northwest which accesses to Santa Cruz, the Madeira airport and Câmara de Lobos.

Location:

• Latitude: 32.633 (32°38') N
• Longitude: 16.9 (16°54') W

[edit] Parishes

Part of Funchal during daylight

• Imaculado Coração de Maria
• Monte
• Santa Luzia
• Santa Maria Maior
• Santo António
• São Gonçalo
• São Martinho
• São Pedro
• São Roque
• Sé

There are 10 parishes in Funchal region. The most populated is Santo António.

[edit] History

Funchal

In the early 1400s, Alvaro Fernandes was the commander of Funchal.

In the 16th century Funchal was important as a stopping place between the Indies and the New World, and was known as a wealthy place. It was also the port for Madeiran sugar and wine.

Some Navy ships including USS Arkansas, USS Chicago, USS John Hancock, USS Salem, CSS Shenandoah, USS Shenandoah, USS Yorktown visited the port.

Funchal hosted the Funchal Island Tournament in 1981 with Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama of the Brazilian League.

Mercado dos Lavradores

Kathedrale Sé

Madeira Wine Lodge

Casino

[edit] Postage stamps

25 reis, 1892, used in 1894; an "S." is visible for the town name.

Between 1892 and 1905, Portugal issued postage stamps inscribed "Funchal", but then reverted to the stamps of Madeira.

[edit] Persons

• José Vicente Barbosa (May 2, 1823 - November 3, 1907) Zoologist
• Artur de Sousa Pinga, Legendary Portuguese football player
• Alberto João Jardim, Leader of regional government of Madeira
• Cristiano Ronaldo, Football Player of Manchester United
• Cabral do Nascimento, Poet
• João Fernandes Vieira, Military
• Fátima Lopes, Fashion Designer
• Mark Athias, Investigator and Reformer
• Henrique Franco, Painter

[edit] External links

• Municipality official site
• Funchal in Google Maps
• Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver

Municipalities of the Madeira Autonomous Region
Madeira Island: Calheta | Câmara de Lobos | Funchal | Machico | Ponta do Sol | Porto Moniz | Ribeira Brava | Santa Cruz | Santana | São Vicente | Porto Santo Island: Porto Santo