The cathedral is designed in a Gothic style and has three naves. The roof of the cathedral features a Mudéjar-inspired design and is of cedar wood. The exterior walls are made of stone from Cabo Girão.

The cathedral contains a silver processional cross, donated by King Manuel I of Portugal, considered one of the masterpieces of precious metalwork of Manueline Portugal.

A statue of Pope John Paul II is located outside the cathedral, which was moved to its current position after formerly being installed in the urban area of Funchal adjacent to the waterfront.

During the 1490s, Manuel I sent architect Pêro Anes or Gil Enes to work on the design of the cathedral of Funchal. The cathedral was structurally complete in 1514. Prior to completion, however, by 1508, when Funchal was elevated to the status of a city, the cathedral was already being used for the celebration of Mass. The spire of the bell tower and a few additional details were finalized in 1517-1518.

The farmer and trader Esmenaut or Esmeraldo, built a house that has become very popular during the sixteenth century due to its richness and dimension.

Their homes in Funchal won more fame for having received Christopher Columbus when he went to the island, probably to conduct business related to sugar or when passed here on his third journey to America.

But if everything has its high points, also has its less famous times, and formerly famous houses were eventually demolished on 9 November 1876. At this time, the houses were occupied by warehouses of cereals.

Following the general degradation of the buildings on the block between the Customs streets, João Esmeraldo, Christopher Columbus and soap, the City Council decided to recover this whole area as a square. However, given the opportunity to meet important archaeological elements, was invited qualified staff for the excavations. Some of the material found is currently on display in the municipal thematic nucleus dedicated to sugar (Museum Centre of Sugar City, Columbus Square).

In marketer condition, João Esmeraldo moved several times to Madeira to settle here permanently. It becomes even sugar producer by acquiring Rui Gonçalves da Câmara the large estate of the Spine in Ponta do Sol, Madeira, where even today, despite major changes, there is the Solar dos Esmeraldos.

In 1498, Christopher Columbus, elevated to the status of Admiral and Viceroy of the Indies, en route to his third trip to America, go through the wood. A tradition nurtured for centuries says he spent in the house of Funchal João Esmeraldo the six days of their stay. The João Esmeraldo’s house was built around 1495 by the mason Gomes Garcia. Unfortunately it would be destroyed in 1876.

Following the general degradation of the buildings on the block between the Customs streets, João Esmeraldo, Christopher Columbus and soap, the City Council decided to recover this whole area as a square. However, given the opportunity to meet important archaeological elements, was invited qualified staff for the excavations. Some of the material found is currently on display in the municipal thematic nucleus dedicated to sugar (Museum of Sugar City, Columbus Square).

Archaeological excavation – House of João Esmeraldo

The first archaeological excavations of Funchal, were carried out between July and October 1989 with the aim of finding the structures of the houses, built in the late fifteenth century, belonging to the Flemish merchant João Esmeraldo. These homes entered in ruins in the mid-nineteenth century and unanimous city council decision, it was demolished in 1876 to connect the Esmeraldo Street to Soap Street. In 1989, the City Hall of Funchal, not to fall into similar error, determined that if they did previous excavations to detect traces of these fifteenth homes and recover the so-called Well of Columbus. For this purpose was organized a specialized team, made by archaeologist Mário Varela Gomes, by Dr. Rosa Varela Gomes, an expert excavation, Francisco Serpa, with the support of the historian Rui Carita and other experts in research in order to intervene in that urban area. The booty found is a rather significant sample of life on the island between the end of the fifteenth century until the eighteenth century.

The first pieces recovered this archaeological intervention have been restored in the Municipal Archaeology Museum Silves, with the support of the local Chamber. Later this work was continued, running by the head of the Archaeology Office of the Municipality of Funchal. They found large amounts of Portuguese pottery fragments from the XV / XVI and XVII, as anforetas, pitchers, platters and bowls. Still pipes, seals, coins, buttons, musket balls, strings of beads and others exhumed mostly Colombo Pit.

It was also possible to locate in this area buried barns, silo type, with materials of the XV / XVI and XVII. These already account for an abandonment phase of its primitive use. Still appeared several types of flooring, demonstrating a diachronic occupation. In the yard of the old house it was located a necropolis, probably prior to its construction and even the Cathedral.

This block has excavated north to Christopher Street Colombo, the South Customs Street, to the east the Esmeraldo Street and to the west the Soap Street, measuring approximately 750 m2. The structures laid bare were being simultaneously recorded through plans, sections and elevations, having made a photographic coverage of the main aspects, artifacts and results of the work.

The exhumed materials were referenced in terms of sectors, squares and stratigraphic units of provenance. The removed land were fully screened. The human osteological estate, the mamalógica fauna and malacológicos and plant remains were studied by experts.

This excavation in 1989, was a rare opportunity for an archaeological and scientific way exploit the soil of Funchal, which now celebrates 500 years.

Archaeology helps to provide details of everyday life of our ancestors, that is rarely referenced in other research supports. Provides an active dialogue with history, it is essential as patrimonologia element.

The Museum The Sugar City makes known to visitors the cultural consequences of economic cycles.

The Museum The Sugar City wants to establish itself as reserves in Funchal everyday memory, between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, through the archaeological remains that excavations might help to rediscover.

The exhibition, located in the basement, combines two aspects, the findings from the excavations in the old houses of João Esmeraldo and artistic heritage and built reflecting the economic power of the Sugar Cycle.

In the space where once stood the Manueline Casa de João Esmeraldo – Flemish who settled in Madeira at the end of the fifteenth century to produce and trade Sugar – was inaugurated on 15 June 1996 the Museum Centre The Sugar City, current The Sugar City Museum.

Archaeological excavations 1989 in the same space, have uncovered a large and important testimonies from estate of everyday life between the sixteenth and seventeenth century, part of which is on display in the museum, highlighting forms of sugar, faience Portuguese and farthings of the reign of D. Afonso V.

They also stress a rare set of Manueline measures, accountants and silver objects drawn with the coat of arms of the city of Funchal. They are also worthy of attention from the parts of the East, which include two copies of Chinese porcelain of the seventeenth century, high technical and artistic quality.

The presence of pieces of furniture of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, Hepplewhite, Sheraton, the end of the Victorian style of the century, due to the presence of a British colony, linked to the business of wine and after Embroidery, who knew expand its influence on the Island.

The English decorative styles were certainly prevalent in the upper classes of the Island. Small household ornaments fled, however, the rigid relationship with Britain opening up to other production centers such as the Portuguese mainland and France.

Rua Visconde de Anadia, 44  
9050 – 020 Funchal
Phone: 291 211 600

Quinta das Cruzes is associated will figure of João Gonçalves Zarco, since it was in these surroundings that established his second home.

This property has undergone several changes over the centuries, becoming the eighteenth century, an emblematic “Quinta Madeirense”.

We can find in this museum, various works of art, Portuguese and foreign furniture, mostly English, as well as several pieces of Jewellery, Jewellery, Ceramics and Sculpture.

In the initial core of works, the focus is on works of Joaquim Rodrigo, António Areal, José Escada, Helena Almeida, Artur Rosa,  among others.

This institution has been developing a procurement policy, lying represented in its collection the most outstanding Portuguese artists, including some born in Madeira Island:  Fernando Calhau, António Palolo, Lourdes Castro, João Queiroz, Michael Biberstein, Patrícia Garrido, Martha Teles, Rui Sanches, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Ana Vidigal, Gäetan, Eduardo Batarda, Daniel Blaufuks, Miguel Branco, Calapez, Pedro Casqueiro, Rui Chafes, José Pedro Croft, Ilda David, Jorge Molder, José Loureiro, Álvaro Lapa, Ana Hatherly, Vieira de Silva, João Vilhena, Pedro Gomes, Pedro Proença and many others.

The activity of this museum focuses primarily on temporary exhibitions, sometimes in partnership with other institutions, or providing visibility through changing exhibitions, the artists represented in its collection, including existing local artists in its collection.

Installed in the Palace Promenade, once belonging to the Counts of Calçada, and leased from the 40s by Dr. Frederico de Freitas, known collector and art lover. Attorney and notary, this Madeira gathered a valuable legacy of works of art, which left the region after his death in 1978.

In order to expose the collections received, the executive Madeira acquired the Casa da Calçada to turn into a museum. In 1988 is inaugurated the House Museum Frederico de Freitas, with precious cores sculpture, painting, engraving, Furniture, Ceramics, Glass and Metals.

Ten years after opening to the public the House of Tiles, built especially to house the eclectic and extensive tile collection, from which you can follow the evolution of this type of ceramic tiles from the early days to the present.

The taste for all kinds of objects, especially those linked to the island of Madeira, made of Augusto Frederico de Freitas careful and dedicated collector. When you came to live in this house, found more than enough space to install the hundreds of pieces that had collected throughout his life. You can find a bit of everything in this house, since English style furniture, ivories, paintings, ceramics, religious images to a valuable collection of tiles.

When he died, as written in his will, left the collection to the Autonomous Region, and the Government started the house restoration work in order to open it as a museum. The table always set in the dining room, the flowers in the jar and the conservatory always cared give us the feeling that still lives there even someone.

The collections of the Museum stands out the Flemish painting of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which came to Madeira in the sixteenth century the so-called golden age of sugar production. The Flemish panels are distinguished not only for its great quality as the large, unusual museums in Europe. It should be noted, though, the Flemish sculpture collection, especially from Malines and Antwerp.

Portuguese painting, which focuses on the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, stand out in the sixteenth century Ecce Homo and the Ascension of Christ attributed to Fernão Gomes.

At the core of jewelery, which covers the XVI, XVII, XVIII and XIX, highlight the processional cross Pena Water fifteenth century, a tray and a chalice with Antwerp puncture the sixteenth century, as well as the processional cross, supply of Manuel I to the Cathedral of Funchal.
At the core of the vestments, most embroidered in gold and hue, there is the embroidered gold chasuble on gold llama of Funchal.