Machico

1. Home
2.   /  
3. Machico

It was at Machico beach, in 1419, that the navigators Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz landed for the first time in Madeira, kicking off the colonization of the island, and also celebrated the first Franciscan mass in these lands on July 2nd, the day of Santa Isabel visitation. The great epic of the Portuguese Discoveries had begun! Later, on May 8th 1440, Infante D. Henrique donated the captaincy of Machico to Tristão Vaz and his descendants, thus giving rise to the archipelago's first seat of captaincy. Situated in the extreme east of Madeira island, Machico's municipality covers an area of 68.3 km2 and is constituted by the Água de Pena, Caniçal, Machico, Porto da Cruz and Santo António da Serra parishes. Despite the great climatic diversity that exists throughout the island, with great thermal variations in places quite close to each other, Machico enjoys mild temperatures throughout the year, which makes this area of the island very attractive for tourism and also for the production of sugarcane during the 15th century, which gave rise to the first machines that have transformed this product in "sugar buns" to be exported around Europe. This trade was the main cause of this hamlet's development until it was, along with the town of Funchal, officially declared as a village in the second half of the 15th century. The origin of the city and county name is not unanimous, although many people believe that it has been originated by the legend of the foiled British marine Robert Machin, who sank and was washed up in the island's coast, in a time were it still wasn't officially recognized as Portuguese, and whose grave was found by Gonçalves Zarco. Other people state that its name may have been originated in the hometown of this Portuguese navigator, Monchique. Today, and in addition to hotel trade, shipbuilding industry, civil construction, bakery and fitters, trade and services, the county essentially lives of agriculture and fisheries, served by the ports of Machico and Caniçal, where tuna and skipjack fisheries arrive. These are essential ingredients in much of the local gastronomy, in dishes such as bife de atum com milho frito (tuna steak with fried corn), gaiado seco (sun-dried skipjack tuna), gaiado de escabeche (sun-dried pickle) and atum de escabeche (marinated tuna). Not to be missed are also the sopa de trigo (wheat soup), sopa de couve (cabbage soup), moganga soup, couscous and milho cozido com chicharros (corn cooked with mackerel), very characteristic delicacies in this part of the island.