Ameixoeira
Ameixoeira, a parish near Lisbon, was formerly called Funchal after its chapel of Nossa Senhora do Funchal; the entry wonders whether it relates to Madeira's Funchal.
Abroad
This is the name of a parish (freguesia) about 6 kilometres from Lisbon, in the municipality (concelho) of Olivais. In his dictionary Portugal Antigo e Moderno, vol. I, p. 195, Pinho Leal says that this parish once belonged to the parish of Lumiar and bore the name of Funchal. He adds that the old chapel of Nossa Senhora do Funchal (Our Lady of Funchal) served as the mother church (igreja matriz) until it was rebuilt and enlarged in 1664. Pinho Leal further states, word for word: ‘It is said that the original chapel was founded in memory of a great victory won here by the Christians over the Moors. It is also said that this chaplaincy (capelania) already existed in the time of the Goths, and that a Moor called Mixo or Mixio gave his name to this settlement (which until the 17th century was called Mixoeira, having earlier been called Funchal, as I have already said)’. Pinho Leal also reports that ‘Ameixoeira, under the name of Funchal, was a hamlet of the parish of Lumiar; but on 6 June 1536 it became independent...’
Could there be some connection between the ancient village (lugar, settlement rank below a town) of Funchal in Amendoeira and the early settlement, later town (vila) and then city, of Funchal? We do not know.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02Place
Places mentioned · 06- Ameixoeira · Subject
Portugal. Subject of the entry, a parish near Lisbon once called Funchal.
Ameixoeira is a parish near Lisbon that formerly belonged to Lumiar. It was once called Funchal after its chapel of Nossa Senhora do Funchal, and the Elucidário wonders whether the name is connected with Madeira's Funchal.
- Chapel of Our Lady of Funchal
Portugal. Old chapel that served as Ameixoeira's parish church.
Old chapel that served as Ameixoeira's parish church.
- Funchal
The Madeiran city whose possible link with the Lisbon locality is questioned.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Ameixoeira lies about 6 km from Lisbon.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
- Lumiar
Portugal. Parish to which Ameixoeira formerly belonged.
Lumiar is a Lisbon parish containing a locality named Funchal. Ameixoeira formerly belonged to it.
People
People mentioned · 02-
Legendary Moor said to have given Ameixoeira (Mixoeira) its name.
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Author of the dictionary Portugal Antigo e Moderno, source for the history of Ameixoeira.