Convent of St Clare
Convento de Santa Clara
São Pedro · Funchal
Municipality of Funchal, Madeira
A convent in Funchal founded in 1492–97 by the second captain-donatary João Gonçalves da Câmara beside the church of Conceição de Cima. It is the burial place of the Câmara family and holds a 1447 document spelling the name 'Zargo'. It was granted in 1912 for a new hospital and was later chosen to house the archaeological museum.
1Mentioned in
- Misericórdias — Convent recommended by doctors and granted in 1912 for a new hospital.
- Coutinho (Francisco de Vasconcelos) — Its nuns performed the poet's farewell eulogy to the governor.
- Poor Souls (chapels) — One end of the street where the chapel stands.
- St Clare (church) — Convent adjoining the chapel that gave the church its name.
- Historical dates — Founded 1497.
- St Quiteria (chantries) — Convent whose nuns built the Curral das Freiras hermitage.
- Câmara (Simão Gonçalves da) — Family burial place where his remains lie.
- Zarco (João Gonçalves) — Its documents include a 1447 record spelling the name 'Zargo'.
- Ash Wednesday procession — Church on the route where nuns sang hymns.
- Coleridge (Henry Nelson) — Convent where Maria Clementina, the nun Coleridge wrote about, lived.
- Menino Jesus Perdido — Convent where the feast was celebrated.
- Archaeological Museum — Former convent chosen to house the museum.
- Convent of the Incarnation — Convent that supplied the first abbess and sheltered the nuns in 1808.
- Old Buildings — Church cited by Neale.
- Artistic heritage — Holds several Portuguese-school paintings.
- Old Funchal — Convent built in 1492 outside the town.
- Câmara (João Gonçalves da) — Convent founded by the subject in 1492, where he and Zarco are buried.
- Our Lady of Calhau (church) — Built on the site of Zarco's chapel of Conceição de Cima.
- Inscribed stones — Church founded by Zargo containing the tombs of the early captains.
- Organ of the Convent of St Clare — Extinct convent whose church houses the restored organ.
- Câmara (Simão Gonçalves da) — Church where the subject was buried in the chancel.
- Figueiroa (Francisco Anacleto de) — Convent housing Zarco's burial vault where Figueiroa was entombed.
- St Anthony (chapels) — Convent that owned Curral das Freiras and built its chapel.
- Sons and sons-in-law of Zarco — Church where Zarco and his son-in-law were buried and captains' tombstones found in 1919.
- Cancioneiro de Resende (Madeira in the) — Convent founded by João Gonçalves da Câmara, where he is buried.
- Curral das Freiras (parish) — Convent that owned the Curral.
- Abreu (Dona Isabel de) — Convent where Isabel withdrew while her husband was in hiding.
- Clementina (Maria) — The convent where Maria Clementina professed, lived and died.
- National monuments — Church and outbuildings classified as a national monument.
- Theatre — Convent whose nuns performed a farewell play in 1718.
- Vieira — Convent whose nuns Manuel Vieira served as syndic.
- Convents — A Franciscan nunnery in Funchal whose church and part of the convent survive.
- Convent of Our Lady of Ransom — Contrasted with the Mercês convent for its less rigid observance.
- Mercês (street) — Part of this convent was received by the council in exchange for the Mercês grounds.
- Outeiros — Convent where poets gathered to gloss mottoes given by the nuns.
- Confectionery — Convent of Poor Clare nuns described as the main centre of Madeiran confectionery.
- Madeira in the Torre do Tombo — Convent whose records are held in the archive.
- Aviation — Site of the tomb of the island's discoverer and the destination of the torchlight procession of 1922.
2Chronology
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The captain-donatary founded the Convent of Santa Clara in Funchal, whose construction began in 1492; the first nuns entered in 1497.
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João Gonçalves da Câmara gave the Curral to the Santa Clara convent as dowry for his daughters, the place becoming known as Curral das Freiras.
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João de Saldanha da Gama's governorship ended; the Santa Clara nuns performed a farewell play and Francisco de Vasconcelos Coutinho wrote a eulogy.
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Decrees granted the Santa Clara convent to the municipality, the Misericórdia (for a hospital) and the Auxílio Maternal; part of it was demolished.
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A further decree ceded part of the Convent of Santa Clara to the Auxílio Maternal.
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Funchal council resolved to cede the Mercês convent grounds to the Auxílio Maternal in exchange for part of Santa Clara convent.
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The Funchal council authorised moving objects to the Santa Clara convent to found an archaeological museum.
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The Diário do Governo published a list of national monuments and properties of public interest including Madeiran buildings such as the Casa de Dona Mécia.