Interpatium

  MONTE VILLAGE - REAL BOTANICAL PARADISE

When King Charles, ruler of Portugal, visited Monte in 1901, it is believed he dubbed the region overlooking Funchal ‘the Sintra of Madeira’. The comparison drawn from these two rural paradises, the latter being just outside Lisbon, lies in their exuberant green and their history as a retreat for the nobility and intellectuals in search of a cool escape from hot summer days.

A favourite strolling place of Empress Sissi of Austria and Queen of Hungary, Monte has seen many royals come and go. The best-known story is that of Charles I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.

Deported by the republican movement that was imposed after World War I, he found political asylum in Madeira and moved to Quinta do Monte with his family – now Quinta Jardins do Imperador (Emperor’s Gardens), open to visitors. The estate was the young Emperor’s last address after he succumbed to a double bout of pneumonia on April 1, 1922, just months after arriving on the island. He was just 34 years old.

The Monte Palace Tropical Garden, formerly owned by English consul Charles Murray, emerges as one of the main attractions, as the current owner, Commander Joe Berardo, fulfilled his dreams and created a space that represents the four corners of the world.

And despite the great significance of the Laurissilva, Madeira’s indigenous forest classed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Tropical Garden’s collection of specimens from faraway lands makes it feel like the whole world is within your reach.

There are a number of ways to get to Monte. However, for those who enjoy the light-headedness caused by beauty, the cable car trips are a must. As well as the cable cars, there is also a more secular form of transport – and a characteristic feature of Madeira’s heritage – which has been around since 1850. The basket cars, made from wicker that sit upon wooden skates, represent one of the region’s most important tourist attractions.

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MADEIRA ISLANDS - THE PEARL OF THE ATLANTIC

Known as the pearl of the Atlantic, Madeira is an artefact of nature. Together with Porto Santo and the Wild and Desert Islands, it forms the Madeira Archipelago, an Autonomous Portuguese Region.

Two thirds of the region’s land is protected. It is in Madeira that you will find the Laurissilva forests, unique in the world. It is thus classed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The island’s nature provides numerous activities and discoveries, although the human history is no less rich, as Madeira and Porto Santo were the first islands to be discovered by Portuguese navigators.

In fact, Funchal was the first European city to be built outside Europe, and as such is the oldest Atlantic city in the world. Madeira’s geographical location has always been one of its most important features. The island was a stopping point for ships crossing the Atlantic, which gained it recognition and opened the doors to tourism in the 19^th century. These cultural influences have given Madeira an identity of its own which, despite its cosmopolitan character, is filled with European features and references.

The weight of these 200 years oft tradition can be felt pretty much in every corner of the island. But this is also a contemporary island which has managed to synthesise the various epochs of its history. The result is a wealth of experiences, the most important of which rests on the natural diversity oh the island itself. The climate is always mild but the micro-climates on the island mean that there is truth in the saying that all for seasons can be experienced in a single day, sometimes within a stone’s throw of each other.

To this forest and climate man has brought exotic plants from the four corners oh the world and created magnificent gardens of English inspiration under the influences of The British families who came here to live. Examples can be found at many local "Quintas"  such as Quinta do Palheiro or The Funchal Botanical Garden, or the Orquidea Garden. 

 Madeira is trully one  the World´s Paradise