Curral das Freiras
Curral das Freiras · Câmara de Lobos
Parish of Curral das Freiras, municipality of Câmara de Lobos, Madeira
Small inland parish set in a deep valley believed to be an extinct volcanic crater and Madeira's main eruptive focus. The estate was bought for the nuns of Santa Clara, who fled there in 1566 and gave it their name, and it was created a parish in 1790. It was earlier a pasture and a refuge for runaway slaves and criminals, and it became a julgado of the Funchal comarca in 1927.
1Mentioned in
- Convent of St Clare — Estate donated to the convent, named after its nuns, where they fled in 1566.
- Fonte Vermelha — Parish at the other end of the road.
- Eira do Serrado — Parish overlooked by the viewpoint.
- Slaves — Remote refuge of runaway slaves and criminals in early colonial times.
- Pilgrimage festivals — Feast of Nossa Senhora do Livramento on the last Sunday of August.
- Profundidades — Site of the most notable profundidade.
- Funchal (judicial district) — Became a julgado of the Funchal comarca in 1927.
- Monizia — Later locality of Monizia edulis.
- Câmara de Lobos (municipality) — Original parish of the municipality.
- Moors — Site of a Moorish population nucleus.
- Geology — Site of Madeira's main eruptive focus.
- Levadas — Parish where the first works of the Piornais levada are found.
- Lapa da Cadela (cave) — Winds and rain reaching the cave come from this direction.
- Ribeira dos Socorridos — Parish the stream crosses.
- Cenoura da rocha (Monizia edulis) — Locality where the plant has been found.
- Cherry tree (Prunus Avium var. Juliana) — Area where cherries are grown.
- Scientific expeditions — Visited by the Belgica expedition in 1897.
- St Quiteria (chantries) — Wrongly given by Azevedo as the chapel's site; only a Santo António hermitage existed there.
- Furão (peak) — Parish containing the peak.
- Roads — On road 27.
- Boca das Torrinhas — Its serra lies on the other side of the pass.
- Boca dos Corregos — Visible from the site.
- Santo António (parish) — Bordering parish, separated from Santo António in 1790.
- Boaventura (parish) — Bordering parish.
- Estreito de Câmara de Lobos (parish) — Bordering parish to the north and east.
- Ruivo (peak) — Parish from which the preferred route to the summit starts.
- St Anthony (chapels) — Its Saint Anthony chapel served as the first parish seat after 1790.
- Cidrão (peak) — Parish overlooked by the peak.
- Cidrão (brook) — Parish in which the stream runs.
- Citron (Citrus medica) — Main area of citron cultivation.
- Freira — The petrel called freira nests in the mountains near this parish.
- Funchal – I. Origin of the name — Part of Funchal municipality in 1834.
- Câmara de Lobos (parish) — Source of the Levada Nova.
- Cancioneiro de Resende (Madeira in the) — Estate donated by João Gonçalves da Câmara to Santa Clara in 1492.
- Fajãs — Parish containing fajãs.
- Manx shearwater (Puffinus anglorum) — Breeding site on inaccessible rocks.
- Estreito da Calheta (parish) — Cited as named after a minor episode.
- Madeira (island) — Deep hollow considered a crater or erosion valley.
- Curral das Freiras (parish) — The parish described.
- Jardim da Serra — Deep valley seen from the heights of Jardim da Serra.
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2Chronology
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Rui Teixeira and Branca Ferreira sold the Curral estate to captain-donatary João Gonçalves da Câmara; it was later given to the Convent of Santa Clara.
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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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A royal charter created the parish of Curral das Freiras, separated from Santo António, with its seat in the chapel of Saint Anthony.