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Madeira

Funchal,Capital city

Today Funchal is a modern city with about 100,000 inhabitants. Funchal is located in a unique area; the natural geological features form an "amphitheatre" surrounding the city, which begins at the harbour(Porto de Funchal) and rises almost 1200 metres high on gentle slopes. This provides a natural shelter and was what attracted the first settlers. Madeira's Capital (political)|capital for more than five centuries, Funchal is said to have been named as such because of the abundance of fennel (''funcho'' in Portuguese language|Portuguese) growing there. The harbour and climate combined with an excellent geographical position allowed Funchal to have a rapid population growth. Probably the most central point is the Sé Cathedral. Built between 1493 and 1514 by Pêro Annes in Manueline style it represents one of Madeira's numerous treasures.

Cities

Cities in Madeira Island : Funchal(population apx:100,500), Camara de Lobos(pop. c.16,600), Caniço (12,000), Machico (11,500), Santa Cruz (6,500), Santana (3,000); (Cidade/city)in Porto Santo Island: Vila Baleira (aka Porto Santo) (pop.c.4,500).

Geological origin and volcanism

Madeira Island is the top of a massive shield volcano that rises about 6 km from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, on an underwater mountain range called Tore, which stands on the African plate. The volcano formed atop an east-west rift in the oceanic crust. Construction of the bulk of the volcano began during the Miocene Epoch over 5 million years ago and continued into the Pleistocene until about 700,000 years ago. This was followed by extensive erosion, producing two large amphitheaters open to south in the central part of the island. Volcanic activity later resumed, producing scoria cones and lava flows atop the older eroded shield. The most recent volcanic eruptions were on the west-central part of the island only 6,500 years ago, creating more cinder cones and lava flows.

Biodiversity

Madeira has three endemism in birds|endemic birds: Zino's Petrel, the Trocaz pigeon and the Madeira Firecrest. It is also of importance for other breeding seabirds, including the Madeiran Storm-petrel, North Atlantic Little Shearwater and Cory's Shearwater. The Macaronesia region harbours an important floral diversity. In fact, the archipelago's forest composition and maturity are quite similar to the forests found in the Tertiary period that covered Southern Europe and Northern Africa millions of years ago. The great biodiversity of Madeira is phytogeographically linked to the Mediterranean region, Africa, Americas|America and Australia, and interest in this phytogeography has been increasing in recent years due to the discovery of some epiphytic bryophyte species with non-adjacent distribution. Madeira also has many endemic species of fauna – mostly invertebrates but also some vertebrates such as the native bat, some lizards species, and some birds as already mentioned. These islands have more than 200 species of land molluscs (snails and slugs), some with very unusual shell shape and colours.

Levadas

The island of Madeira is wet in the northwest but dry in the southeast. In the 16th century the Portuguese started building levadas to carry water to the agricultural regions. The most recent was made in the 1940s. Madeira is very mountainous, and building the levadas was often difficult. Many are cut into the sides of mountains, and it was also necessary to dig 25 miles of tunnels. Today the levadas not only supply water to the southern parts of the island but provide hydro-electric power. There are over 1350 miles of levadas and they provide a remarkable network of walking paths. Some provide easy and relaxing walks through beautiful countryside, but others are narrow, crumbling ledges where a slip could result in serious injury or death. Two of the most popular levadas to hike are the ''Levada do Caldeirão Verde'' and the ''Levada do Caldeirão do Inferno'' which should not be attempted by hikers prone to vertigo or without torches and helmets. The ''Levada do Caniçal'' is a much easier walk, running 7.1 miles from Maroços to the ''Caniçal Tunnel''. It is known as the ''mimosa levada'' because Mimosa|mimosa trees are found all along the route.

Laurisilva

Laurisilva ,a wooded area in central Madeira Island has decclered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Natural Sight. Other natural wonders: The isles Desertas Islands|Desertas and Selvagens Islands|Selvagens are in consideration for classification

Economy

The setting-up of the Free trade zone has led to the installation, under more favourable conditions, of infrastructure, production shops and essential services for small and medium-sized industrial enterprises. The Free Zone of Madeira, also called the Madeira International Business Centre, being a tax-privileged economic area, provides an incentive for companies, offering them financial and tax advantages via a whole range of activities exercised in the Industrial Free Zone, the Off-Shore Financial Centre, the International Shipping Register organisation, and the International Service Centre. The services sector makes the largest contribution to the formation of the regional gross value added as opposed to the agricultural sector, for which the share has continuously declined in the regional economy. Over the last few years, the regional economy has managed to open up and establish more internal and external competitiveness, so that its companies have become internationalised. The largest industries are associated with the activities of food, beverages (and especially Madeira wine) and construction.

Tourism

Tourism is an important sector in the region's economy since it contributes 20% to the region's GDP, providing support throughout the year for commerce|commercial, transport and other activities and constituting a significant market for local products. The share in Gross Value Added of hotels and restaurants (9%) also highlights this phenomenon. The island of Porto Santo, with its 9 km long beach and its climate, is totally devoted to tourism. Over the past decade it has recorded a substantial increase in its hotel accommodation capacity. Development in Madeira is considered to have potential since the necessary infrastructure has been established and adequate investment incentives have been introduced for expanding its hotel and catering structure in a controlled manner. Conservation of its nature is important as it is one of tourists' main reasons for visiting Madeira. Visitors are mainly from the European Union, with Germany|German, United Kingdom|British, Scandinavian and Portugal|Portuguese tourists providing the main contingents. The average annual occupancy rate was 57.4% in 2001, reaching its maximum in March and April, when it exceeds 70%.

Transport

The Islands have two airports, one in Santa Cruz, Madeira|Santa Cruz (known as Madeira Airport|Funchal Airport {Madeira/Funchal International) (FNC)) on the Island of Madeira and the other in the island and municipality of Porto Santo(PXO) ,serving city of Vila Baleira on Porto Santo Island. Flights to the islands are mostly made from Lisbon and Porto, but there are also direct flights from other major European cities and other countries, like Brazil, Venezuela and South Africa. In the past Funchal airport,aka Madeira International Airport was infamous for its runway, which was short and was built on a high embankment but which fell away abruptly to the sea and was often troubled by difficult upwinds which tended to uplift aircraft when landing. In the past the largest airliners that were able to use the airport were the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 and in 1977 a Boeing 727 aircraft when landing in unfavorable weather ran off the cliff at the end of the runway causing over 150 deaths.Funchal Aircraft Disaster of 19 November 1977 Recently, however, the runway has been realigned and extended from 1800m to 2481m, enabling almost any modern airliner to visit the island, including the Boeing 747-400, one of the biggest airliners today. European Union citizens of the Schengen Treaty area can enter the islands freely, while those from other regions need identification. Transport between the two main islands is done by plane or by ferries, the latter also allowing for the transportation of vehicles. Visiting the interior of the islands is now very easy, due to major road developments, known as the Via Rapids, on the islands during Portugal's economic boom. Modern roads reach all points of interest on the islands. The old, curving mountain roads are still an excellent way to tour the island. Funchal has an extensive public transportation system. Bus companies, including Horarios do Funchal which has been operating for over one hundred years, have regularly scheduled routes to all points of interest on the island.

Society and Culture

Demographics

When the Portuguese discovered the island of Madeira in 1419, it was completely uninhabited by humans, with no aboriginal population at all. The island was settled by Portuguese people, especially farmers from the Minho (province)|Minho regionAlberto Vieira, ''O Infante e a Madeira: dúvidas e certezas, Centro Estudos História Atlântico., meaning that ''Madeirans'' (), as they are called, are ethnic Portuguese, though they have developed their own distinct regional identity and cultural traits. The region has a total population of just under 250,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom live on the main island of Madeira where the population density is 337/km²; meanwhile only around 4,500 live on the Porto Santo Island where the population density is 112/km².

Famous Madeirans

The following people were either born or have lived part of their lives in Madeira:
- Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos, former Archbishop of the former Portuguese colonial enclave Goa (in India)
- Alberto João Jardim, President of the Regional Government
- Aldonio Ferreira, academic at Monash University, Accounting and Finance staff
- Ana da Silva, founding member of the post-punk band The Raincoats
- António de Abreu, naval officer and navigator
- Artur de Sousa Pinga, former CS Marítimo and Futebol Clube do Porto|FC Porto football player
- Catarina Fagundes, Olympic Games|Olympic athlete for windsurf
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United and Portugal national football team|Portugal midfielder
- Cristopher Columbus, navigator Madeira (Insight Guides), ed. Ute York
- Dionísio Pestana, president of the Pestana Group
- Fátima Lopes, Fashion designer
- Fábio Machado, Mandolinist
- Francisco de Vasconcelos, Poet
- Henrique Franco, Painter
- Jaime Ornelas Camacho, ''first and former'' President of the Regional Government
- Jardim Gonçalves, entrepreneur and founder of Banco Comercial Português|BCP
- João Fernandes Vieira, military in Brazil and Angola
- João Rodrigues (sailor)|João Rodrigues, Olympic Games|Olympic athlete for windsurf
- Joe Berardo, Portuguese millionaire, and art collector
- José Travassos Valdez, 1st Count of Bonfim, governor in 1827-1828
- José Vicente de Freitas, military and politician
- Karl of Austria, Austrian monarch
- Lloyd_Mathews|Sir Lloyd William Matthews, British naval officer, politician and abolitionist
- Luis Jardim|Luís Jardim, Producer of music
- Lourdes de Castro, Visual artist
- Manuel Nunes, inventor of the Ukulele
- Marcos Freitas International table tennis player
- Manoel Dias Soeyro or Menasseh Ben Israel (1604–1657), Spanish and Portuguese Jews|Sephardi Rabbi and publisher
- Moisés Henriques, former Australian Under-19 Captain and current NSW Blues cricketer
- Nadia Almada, a winner of the British reality show Big Brother 2004 (UK)|Big Brother
- Paul Langerhans, Germany|German pathology|pathologist and biology|biologist
- Pedro Camacho|Pedro Macedo Camacho, Composer
- Rigo 23, Artist
- Ronalda, Portuguese singer
- Stephanie Ferreira, H&M's top models
- Teodósio Clemente de Gouveia, Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
- Vânia Fernandes, portuguese singer and that represent Portugal in Eurovision 2008
- Virgilio Teixeira, Actor
- Zita Teixeira, Ursuline Sister, South Africa, Botswana and Australia
- André Antoine Bernard, French revolutionary, ended his life at Funchal

Vegetation(Plants,fruts)and Madeira wine

The islands are noted as the source of Madeira wine. The islands are also known for their exotic flowers, sub-tropical, tropical fruits and New Year's Eve celebrations with a spectacular fireworks show, considered the biggest in the world. This island now produces also banana, mangoes, papayas, guavas, pinneapple,sugar cane,avvocados,passionfroot,coffee and many other fruits and specialty crops. There are also coconut palms (Cocos nucifera),rubber trees,and other "exotic" smi-tropical plants.

Gastronomy

Traditional pastries in Madeira usually contain local ingredients, one of the most common being ''mel de cana'', literally ''sugarcane honey'' - molasses. The traditional cake of Madeira is called "Bolo de mel", which translates as (Sugarcane) "Honey Cake" and according to custom is never cut with a knife but broken into pieces by hand. It is a rich and heavy cake. Visitors to the island will see plentiful examples of handicraft on sale in shops. The islands have historical monuments, streets and plazas (''praças'') with many gardens and typical small towns.

Sports

Madeira has two association football|football teams in the Portuguese Liga, Portugal's top league, Marítimo of Funchal and C.D. Nacional|Nacional. The Manchester United and Portugal national football team|Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Madeira and played for Nacional before going to Sporting CP|Sporting Lisbon.Cristiano Ronaldo Marítimo has also nurtured other great players such as Pepe, now at Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid, Tonel, now at Sporting Clube de Portugal|Sporting, and Manduca, who was transferred to SL Benfica|Benfica. Marítimo has also enjoyed various campaigns in the UEFA Cup having recorded famous results against teams such as Juventus, Leeds United|Leeds and Rangers F.C.|Rangers. In 2003-04 in Portuguese football|2003-04 Nacional has achieved 4th place in the Portuguese League, their best classification ever. In recent years Madeira has had a considerable amount of success in professional basketball, with CAB Madeira having won numerous titles, especially their female team. CAB are often seen competing in European competition such as the FIBA EuroCup, and former stars include Filipe da Silva and ex-Los Angeles Lakers player Ike Nwankwo. Madeira Andebol SAD, the island's only professional team handball|handball team is one of the most successful in the country, while rally car racing, fishing and golf are other popular sports played on the island. Rugby union is also played on the island to a minor degree.

Postage stamps

Portugal has issued postage stamps for Madeira during several periods, beginning in 1868; see postage stamps and postal history of Madeira for more details.

References

External links

- Madeira's Government Website
- Madeira Tourism Official Website
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- Madeira Spotters
- Clube Sport Uniao Madeirense, Rhode Island USA Category:Statistical Regions of Portugal Category:Outermost regions of the European Union Category:Volcanoes of Portugal Category:Volcanoes of the Atlantic Ocean Category:World Heritage Sites in Portugal|Laurisilva of Madeira Category:Wine regions of Portugal Category:Islands of Macaronesia Category:Autonomous Region of Madeira| be-x-old:Мадэйра simple:Madeira Islands

Related Images

- Typical Madeiran flowers

Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL

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