Campanário (parish)

‘Bell tower’ or ‘belfry’ is the meaning of the word campanário, which seems an odd name for a parish. In trying to trace the origin of this name, as applied to the parish (freguesia) with which we are now concerned, we have found only one explanation, in some notes by Dr João Pedro de Freitas Drumond held in the municipal library of this city. It is by no means implausible, but neither can we affirm that it rests entirely on the truth. We shall nevertheless accept it as genuine and as coming from a good source, since the author of the notes cited gives us no reason to suspect any lack of probity in his reports and historical statements.

When the discoverers, on their first exploration along the coast, rounded Cabo Girão, they came upon a small islet close to the shore which, from a distance, seemed to them to have the shape of a belfry or bell tower (campanário). They gave this name to that stretch of coast, and it was later extended to the surrounding land. ‘It resembled a belfry, says Freitas Drumond, having two tall legs, one of which the sea threw down on 1 November 1798.’ Once the ‘bell tower’ had been destroyed by the pounding and violence of the waves, it is not surprising that the origin of the name should gradually have fallen into oblivion.

Referring to the exploration that João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira made in order to fix the boundary between the two captaincies into which Madeira was divided, Frutuoso says the following: ‘Arriving at Câmara de Lobos (‘seals’ den’). . going further on to some very high lands, there he laid out another church of the True Cross (Vera Cruz), and all these heights he took for his heirs...’. This chapel and the lands taken by Zarco lay within the boundaries of the parish of Campanário, and today they belong to the parish of Quinta Grande (‘large estate’), which was separated from it in 1848. Elsewhere the same Frutuoso also says: ‘half a légua to the west there is a lugar (settlement ranking between a town and a parish) of a hundred scattered households (fogos, literally ‘hearths’) (he is referring to the end of the 16th century), which they call Campanário... these are lands of livestock and of wheat and rye growing, the people being highland folk, more given to raising cattle than to cultivating vines or other fruit trees; but for all this it must be understood that in these and in all the places of the island there have always been, and are today, honourable and noble people of lofty thoughts’.

We cannot determine precisely when this parish was created, but it existed before 1556, because a royal decree (alvará) of 28 August of that year added one moio (dry measure of grain, 60 alqueires) of wheat and one pipa (wine cask and measure, c. 400–500 litres) of wine to the 10,000 réis (old Portuguese money of account; 1$000 = 1,000 réis, 1:000$000 = one conto = 1,000,000 réis) of the vicar’s stipend (côngrua). This salary was increased by the royal decrees of 9 June 1581, 18 January 1589 and 19 January 1674, and then stood at 19,000 réis in cash, one and a half moios of wheat and one and a half pipas of wine.

It is recorded that a curacy (curato) was created there in 1698, but it seems there was a delay in filling this post. Only with the royal decree of 9 May 1727 was the curate’s stipend fixed, at 20,000 réis a year, and the appointment to the office was then made.

We do not know when the present parish church was built. Its façade bears the date 1683, which must be that of its reconstruction, unless one accepts that another church existed on a different site before the present building. We are aware that in 1677 the Council of Finance (Conselho da Fazenda) ordered the work of building the chancel to be put out to auction.

This parish has the chapels of Nossa Senhora do Bom Despacho and Nossa Senhora da Glória. The chapels of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nossa Senhora do Carmo), Nossa Senhora do Rosário, São João Baptista and Nossa Senhora dos Remédios no longer exist. We shall deal with all of them in the appropriate place.

Among its early grantees of land (sesmeiros) and settlers were Manuel de Noronha, son of the second captain-donatary (capitão-donatário) of Funchal, who held vast tracts of land that today belong to Quinta Grande; Vasco Delgado, who established himself on the banks of the Ribeira dos Melões (‘melons’ stream’), where he founded an entail (morgado); Pedro Enes; and others. The largest properties that the Jesuits owned on this island lay within the bounds of Campanário, and they made up chiefly the so-called Quinta Grande, which later gave its name to this parish. This rural estate yielded, 160 years ago, more than two contos (one million réis) de réis, which today would correspond to a very considerable income.

It is in this parish that the locality of Fajã dos Padres (‘the priests’ flat’) lies, so called because it belonged to the fathers of the Society of Jesus. It is a fajã (strip of flat land at the foot of a cliff) beside the sea, beneath towering rocks. It is carefully cultivated and produces the finest and most celebrated Malmsey in Madeira. This locality was sacked more than once by pirates, who in January 1625 destroyed the chapel that the Jesuits had there.

In 1825 serious disturbances of public order broke out in Campanário for political reasons, and the armed forces had to intervene. At the time these events caused a great sensation because of the special circumstances surrounding them.

With the creation of the municipality (concelho) of Ribeira Brava (‘wild river’) in 1914, the parish of Campanário ceased to belong to the municipality of Câmara de Lobos and was included in the area of the new municipality. Born here were the bishop of São Paulo, Dom Manuel Joaquim Gonçalves de Andrade (1767–1847), the distinguished jurist Francisco Justino Gonçalves de Andrade (1821–1902) and Canon João Jacinto Gonçalves de Andrade (1825–1894), both eminent professors at the law faculty of that Brazilian city (see those entries).

In former times there were many chestnut groves in this parish. One chestnut tree of gigantic proportions became well known to Portuguese and foreigners alike, and its engraving is reproduced in many works dealing with Madeira. It stood in the locality of Achada (‘plateau’) and measured 10 metres in circumference. Partly eaten away by time, it had at its base a door-shaped opening that gave access to a hollow able to hold several people.

The most notable localities of this parish are Fajã dos Padres, Tranqual, Quebrada, São João, Pinheiro,

Lugar da Ribeira, Voltas, Pedregal, Achada, Terreiros, Lugar da Serra, Cova da Velha, Adega, Corujeira, Longueira, Rhodes, Carmo, Serrado, Chapim, Calçada, Lombo do Romão, Igreja, Lapa e Maçapez, Furnas e Amoreiras, Fajã Velha, Vigia, Porta Nova, Chamorra, Jardim, Palmeira, Roda e Maçapez, Pôrto da Ribeira, Pedra de Nossa Senhora and Nossa Senhora da Glória. The state boys’ school is in the locality of Carmo, and the state girls’ school in Furnas e Amoreira.

The parish has a small port and a stony beach where landing is difficult. A few years ago a small landing place was built there, which serves well when the sea is calm. Above the port, at different heights, several cavities with wooden doors have been dug into the tuff of a sheer cliff. They serve as storehouses for various goods, agricultural produce, firewood, fishing gear, etc.

It lies approximately 18 kilometres from Funchal, 8 from Câmara de Lobos (the church) and 4½ from Ribeira Brava.