Machico

Machico is where Zarco and Teixeira landed in 1419 and made the first settlement on Madeira, dividing the island into two captaincies with this as the eastern capital. It sits in a wide bay on the east coast with a valley running inland, and it has the fifteenth-century Capela dos Milagres, rebuilt after a flood swept the original away in 1803 - the crucifix from it was found floating at sea and returned, which is the subject of the town's October festival - and a parish church with a Manueline doorway given by Manuel I. Madeira is volcanic and has almost no sand, so in 2008 the town imported some: several thousand tonnes of golden sand from Morocco, laid over the shingle to make a proper beach, sheltered by two breakwaters. It is honest about it. The airport is a few kilometres away, so Machico is often a first or last stop.

History

On 1 July 1419 João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira landed on the beach here, and on 8 May 1440 Henry the Navigator gave Tristão Vaz and his heirs the Captaincy of Machico, the first in the archipelago. Sugar cane was grown here from the 15th century, Machico became a town in 1451, and the Teixeira family built its first parish church at the end of that century (Wikipedia, Machico, Madeira).

Highlights

• The 1419 landing - the site of the first Madeiran settlement.
• The imported beach - Moroccan sand laid over shingle in 2008 behind breakwaters.
• The Capela dos Milagres - rebuilt after the 1803 flood, with the recovered crucifix.
• The Manueline doorway - given to the parish church by Manuel I.

When to go

Year-round. Half a day. The Festa do Senhor dos Milagres in early October is the town's main event.

What to expect

The beach is imported sand and the town says so - visitors expecting a natural strand should know. It is a working town rather than a resort. Airport noise and traffic are close. The bay is sheltered, so water is calm but not especially clear.

Nearby

Ponta de São Lourenço is east; Santa Cruz and the airport are south.

Key facts