Luís (Infante Dom) 1The 1858 visit
Luís (Infante Dom)
Original title: Luís (Infante D.)
Account of the two visits to Madeira of Infante D. Luís, later King of Portugal: in 1858, as commander of the corvette Bartolomeu Dias, he became the first member of the Portuguese royal family to visit the island, and in 1861 he returned to escort Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
1The 1858 visit
Infante Dom Luís, later King of Portugal, first visited Madeira in 1858. He was the first member of the Portuguese royal family to visit the island. Commanding the corvette Bartolomeu Dias, he reached our harbour on 8 October of that year, accompanied by his chamberlain, the Count of Linhares. The gunboat Sagres sailed in company. He landed at the Cais da Pontinha (‘little point’) the following day, and the reception was of the greatest splendour and grandeur. During the twenty days that Dom Luís spent in Madeira, besides the other festivities and public demonstrations of esteem and affection held in his honour, splendid private festivities took place, whose memory lived on in local tradition for many years because of their brilliance and extraordinary pomp. Outstanding among them were the festivity at Palheiro Ferreiro (‘blacksmith’s barn’) and the dinner and ball at the Palácio de São Pedro (‘St Peter’), given by the Count of Carvalhal (‘oak grove’), which greatly impressed the prince; the ball at the Funchal Club (Club Funchalense), given by the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal); and the reception at the house of the holder of the entail (morgado) of Cruzes, Nuno de Freitas Lomelino. Dom Luís made lengthy visits to the Asylum for the Destitute (Asilo de Mendicidade), the Princess Maria Amélia Hospice (Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélia), the Hospital of St Elizabeth of Portugal (Santa Isabel), the military hospital, the lyceum (state secondary school) and several public offices.
On 25 October the prince and his retinue went to the town (vila) of Ponta do Sol (‘point of the sun’). After landing he went straight on to the beautiful spot of Rabaçal, returning in the afternoon to the same town, where he spent the night.
On the eve of his departure, Infante Dom Luís held a reception at the Palácio de São Lourenço (‘St Lawrence’) and took his leave there, thanking the civil governor for the address he delivered on that occasion and the inhabitants of the island for the extraordinary proofs of esteem and affection he had received from them. He left for Lisbon on 27 October 1858.
2The 1861 visit
Dom Luís returned to Madeira in 1861, coming on behalf of Pedro V to visit Empress Elisabeth of Austria and to escort her when she left the island. He arrived in Funchal on 17 April of that year and, aboard the corvette Bartolomeu Dias, accompanied the vessel carrying the Empress as far as Gibraltar.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02-
Infante D. Luís arrived at Funchal in the corvette Bartolomeu Dias, the first royal visit to Madeira, landing next day at the Pontinha quay with a grand reception; he was received at the Palheiro by the Count of Carvalhal and ordered inlaid tables for King Pedro V and Queen Estefânia.
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Infante D. Luís, landing at Lugar de Baixo because rough seas prevented landing at Ponta do Sol, visited Ponta do Sol on his way to Rabaçal.
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Infante D. Luís left Madeira for Lisbon, ending his visit.
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Infante D. Luís arrived at Funchal on behalf of King Pedro V to visit Empress Elisabeth of Austria and escort her on departure.
Place
Places mentioned · 13
Abroad
- Cais da Pontinha
Funchal. Landing place of D. Luís on 9 October 1858.
The Pontinha quay in Funchal, built in 1876–78 and improved with the breakwater works. It was the landing place of notable visitors including the Empress of Austria and the Unknown Soldier's remains in 1921, and the terminus of a water supply for shipping.
- Funchal
Where D. Luís arrived on 17 April 1861.
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.
- Funchal Club
Funchal. Venue of the ball offered by the Câmara Municipal.
The Club Funchalense was a club in Funchal whose rooms hosted the banquet and ball for the explorers Capelo and Ivens. It was also the venue of a ball offered by the Câmara Municipal to Infante D. Luís.
- Gibraltar
United Kingdom. Point to which he escorted the Empress's ship in 1861.
British port to which the Empress of Austria was escorted on leaving Madeira and to which Padre Macedo was deported in 1823. Dr Joaquim de Menezes e Ataide died of plague there in 1828. It was the base of the British forces that demanded the Bernarda.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Destination on his departure in 1858.
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.
- Palheiro Ferreiro
Santa Cruz. Estate where the Conde de Carvalhal gave a celebrated festivity for the prince.
A quinta and one of the principal localities of Caniço parish, later Blandy's estate, whose land borders that of the chapel of Nossa Senhora das Neves. The Conde de Carvalhal gave a celebrated festivity there for Infante D. Luís, and a fête was held there during the visit of the King and Queen of Portugal. It was one of the defence posts organised by Travassos Valdês at the time of the Miguelist occupation, and part of the troops were detached to it.
- Ponta do Sol
Town where the prince landed on 25 October 1858 and spent the night.
South-coast parish and municipality, settled from about 1440 by Rodrigo Enes 'o Coxo'. Its parish church of Nossa Senhora da Luz holds a triptych. The Elucidário also records its quay of 1848, paid for by the council, and the royal visit of 1858.
- Princess Maria Amélia Hospice
Funchal. Hospice visited by the prince.
Funchal hospital for poor sufferers of pulmonary tuberculosis, founded by Empress D. Amélia in memory of her daughter, who died in Madeira in 1853. It was provisionally installed in Rua do Castanheiro in 1853, moved to a new building (1856–59) opened in 1862 with a founding inscription, and was run by the Sisters of Charity with an endowment from Queen Josefina of Sweden. Its chapel holds a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows given by Maximilian, and its gardens near Quinta Vigia hold many exotic woody species.
- Rabaçal
Calheta. Beauty spot visited by the prince on his excursion.
An upland site at about 1,000 m in the valley of the Ribeira da Janela, where the springs feeding the Rabaçal levadas and the Ribeira da Janela are tapped. It has an unfinished Spanish-era water tunnel, the Casas do Rabaçal refuge huts and a rain-gauge post. It is a resort from which visitors reach the Vinte e Cinco Fontes, and a beauty spot visited by Prince Luís in 1858.
- São Lourenço Palace
Funchal. Where D. Luís held his farewell reception.
The Palácio de São Lourenço, the governors' palace-fortress in Funchal, was the scene of beija-mão ceremonies, receptions, balls and dinners, and of the 1861 exhibition. The Elucidário records a great fire there in 1699, a natural history museum in 1850, and an attempt by soldiers to enter it in 1829. The Teatro Grande stood opposite it.
- São Pedro Palace
Funchal. Palace where a dinner and ball were given for D. Luís.
The Palácio de São Pedro is the former manor of the Counts of Carvalhal, where the infante D. Luís was entertained with a dinner and ball. From 1933 it housed the municipal library, the natural history museum and the Arquivo Histórico da Madeira. Miss Mary Jane Wilson also set up St George's High School there.
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People
People mentioned · 07-
Portuguese prince, later King Luís I, who visited Madeira in 1858 and 1861 as a naval commander; he was the first member of the royal family to visit the island.
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Madeiran noble who hosted celebrated festivities for D. Luís at Palheiro Ferreiro and the São Pedro palace in 1858.
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Chamberlain who accompanied Infante D. Luís on his 1858 visit to Madeira.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was staying in Madeira in 1861 and whom D. Luís escorted to Gibraltar.
- Nuno de Freitas Lomelinod. 1882
Holder of the Cruzes entail, who gave a reception at his house for D. Luís in 1858.
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King of Portugal, on whose behalf D. Luís visited Empress Elisabeth in Madeira in 1861.
- Princess Maria Améliad. 1853
Princess after whom the Hospício visited by D. Luís was named.