Monumental Road and Bridge

The bridge over the Ribeiro Seco and the road that begins at it and leads to the parish (freguesia) of Câmara de Lobos (‘seals’ den’) are generally known as the Ponte Monumental and the Estrada Monumental (the Monumental Bridge and Monumental Road), because the original plan for their construction conceived of them as a monument raised to the memory of the King of Portugal Pedro IV. They were to bear his name and were intended to commemorate here his achievements as the liberator king. It was his comrade-in-arms and devoted friend, Luís da Silva Mousinho de Albuquerque, the first governor of Madeira in the constitutional period, who conceived this project in 1835; his short stay at the head of the administration of this district left it barely begun. Writing on this subject, Servulo Drumond de Meneses says: ‘Immediately on leaving the city towards the west, one comes upon a great landslide (quebrada) formed by the torrents, at the bottom of which runs the Ribeiro Seco. Mr Mousinho de Albuquerque intended to cross this landslide by means of a suspension bridge, and to that end he began by having two gigantic pillars built, besides the very strong abutments on each edge of the landslide. The plan included the idea of raising a monument to the memory of the Immortal Duke of Braganza, Magnanimous Liberator of the Portuguese, and accordingly the work was to be magnificent and grandiose. It happened, however, that when Mr Mousinho de Albuquerque left the island, the works already begun made no further progress. Thus the laudable and patriotic designs of the illustrious governor of Madeira were frustrated for a long time, although, tireless and persevering, he had not only already given a great impetus to the work but had also gathered many materials, which in the end were gradually lost.’

The civil governor, the Baron of Lordelo (1838–1840), made a praiseworthy attempt to continue the work already begun, but he could not overcome the difficulties that stood in the way of its execution. That glory fell to the most distinguished and deserving governor this archipelago has had, Councillor (conselheiro, honorary title of the royal council) José Silvestre Ribeiro, who, after persistent efforts, managed to bring this great undertaking to completion. Construction began on 6 March 1848, and the work was almost finished by the end of the same year.

For this purpose Councillor José Silvestre opened a public subscription, which raised more than three contos (one million réis) de réis, and the Funchal Council contributed about two contos.

In 1848 the secretary-general of the civil government of Funchal, Sérvulo Drumond de Meneses, published a pamphlet entitled Colecção de documentos relativos á construçao da Ponte do Ribeiro Secco, which contains very interesting information about this work. Although it did not deserve the name ‘monumental’, the bridge was nonetheless an important improvement, long called for, which met a great public need. The road that continues from the bridge had then only just been begun, and it advanced rather slowly until its final completion. The alvenaria (local name for compact basalt used as building stone) bridge over the Ribeira dos Socorridos was begun on 5 June 1848.