3rd May Our hotel is situated in the old town of Funchal and within close proximity there is always something interesting to see. As the Portuguese almost completely dominated the North Atlantic routes in ancient times, the defence of the island did not seem of special importance. Because of this negligence, in 1566 Funchal suffered a terrible pirate attack, where many people were slaughtered. In spite of the constant danger of another attack, only in 1614 the São Tiago Fort was finally built to protect Funchal from the corsairs. In 1767 it was enlarged and exclusively served military purposes until 1992, the year in which Madeira’s Regional Government decided to use it for cultural activities. There is also a restaurant with view across the battlements. A little further on is The Socorro Church, also known as
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