The archipelago of Madeira is a series of Atlantic islands, which are located within Portuguese territory.

Madeira is situated about 700 km from the African coastline and about 1000 km from the Portuguese mainland and is the most heavily populated island of the archipelago. The archipelago also includes the beautiful and paradisiacal island of Porto Santo and the inhabited islands Selvagens and Desertas.

The name Madeira (which literally means “Wood”) was given to the island by the first Portuguese sailors who noticed the island’s vast forests.

History tells us that Madeira was discovered in the year 1419. João Gonçalves Zarco was commanding a maritime exploration expedition along the African coastline when his vessel, in the middle of a massive storm, lost track of the planned route.

The vessel eventually came to land on the shores of Porto Santo, where the brave sailors, exhausted by their hard days at sea, finally found refuge. From here sprang the name (literally meaning Holy Port), which came from the depths of the sailors’ hearts, as a grateful prayer for the island, which had saved their lives.

The history of the discovery does not end here. As they moved along the holy island’s golden beaches, they noticed a dark shadow cast onto the sea, and Captain Zarco, longing to find out what it was, set out and finally reached Madeira in 1420.

Beautiful and just as imposing as it is sweet, Madeira is a pearl of the Atlantic ocean, which harbours a mild climate within its flowery bosom, in which stunning landscapes unfold, each more intense and unforgettable than the last! Its beauty, people, cultural traditions and history, make this island a prime destination for tourism, an opportunity not to be missed...