The Church of St Martin () is the main church in the
Freguesia
''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Por ...
(Parish in English) of
São Martinho (Funchal),
Madeira. Dedicated to
St. Martin of Tours.
History
The old church at the bottom of the hill had become too small for the area and so construction started on July 8, 1883 on the current church of the same name, with the first stone being laid. Lack of founds halted construction until August 2, 1907, when the local parishioner José de Abreu died leaving almost all of his fortune, which for the time was large, to the continuation of the works of the same church.
Festival
The main festival that is celebrated is
St Martin's day (Festa de São Martinho or Arraial de São Martinho in Portuguese) celebrated on the 10 and 11 November in the grounds of the church, where fires are made by locals and local food is made such as
roasted chestnuts (Marking the beginning of the new chestnut harvest season),
Espetada
Espetada (also known as espetinho, especially in Brazil) is the Portuguese term used for the technique of cooking food on skewers, and for the dishes prepared that way. Espetada is a traditional dish in Portuguese cuisine.
In Portugal, espetada ...
,
Bolo do caco
Bolo do caco is a circular Madeiran flatbread, shaped like a cake and thus called ''bolo'' ( Portuguese for 'cake'). It is traditionally cooked on a ''caco'', a flat basalt stone slab. The bread is usually served with garlic butter,
or eaten as ...
, and
Bacalhau
() is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context—dried and salted cod. Fresh (unsalted) cod is referred to as (fresh cod).
Portuguese and other cuisines
dishes are common in Portugal, and also in former Portuguese colonies ...
. The grapes that were
harvested a few months before and made into wine, are first tasted on this day.
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References
External links
{{Commons category-inline, Igreja Nova de São Martinho (Funchal)
Catholic Church in Madeira
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1918
Churches in Madeira
20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Portugal