Imaculado Coração de Maria () is a civil parish in the municipality of

Funchal Funchal () officially Funchal City (), is the capital, largest city and a Municipality (Portugal), municipality in Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it ...

in the archipelago of

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

. Imaculado Coração de Maria, which is Portuguese for ''The Immaculate Heart of Mary'', is a suburb of Funchal. The population in 2011 was 6,207, in an area of 1.36 km².Eurostat

History

At the end of the 20th century, the growth of

along the Ribeira de Santa Luzia and along the Monte Railway (which linked Funchal until Terreiro da Luta) caused the growth in settlement along the rural roadways, forcing the creation of new industries and further settlement. Meanwhile, along the coast of Funchal, new groups of residential and leisure-related activities, with parks and exotic gardens began to progressively replace older rural activities. With the occupation of lower Funchal by factories, the zones of habitation began to progressively appear around Funchal, forming new nodes of new activity. In 1940, the city of Funchal underwent a profound renovation, spearheaded by Dr. Fernão Ornelas, that resulted in a modernization of the infrastructures to complement the tourist industry; there was new construction, alterations to improve accessibility, the paving of new roadways, new administrative buildings, hotels and waterworks to support the increasing number of services along the coast. Imaculado Coração de Maria was one of the emerging communities around central Funchal. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the faith community had shown their devotion to ''the Sacred Heart of Jesus'' and the ''Immaculate Heart of Mary'', especially with the residency of

Charles I of Austria Charles I (, ; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was the ...

, who was a devotee and who would later die while in exile (February 1922). On 26 November 1954, Imaculado Coração de Maria was elevated to the status of civil parish, due to the significant demographic increases. At about the same time, a new parish church was ordered constructed by diocese prelate, D. António Manuel Ribeiro. The large project was designed by architect Chorão Ramalho, who in turn produced a large modern building plan, or ''

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

'', that was only completed 40 years later (it would be one of the modern projects best associated with the Portuguese architect during the 20th century).

Geography

The parish is best described as a similar in form to a "number six" located north of São Pedro, in the urbanized beltway of Funcal. Its limits are delineated in the west by a long strip that includes the Rua da Torrinha (and the older Caminho de Ferro), Estrada do Monte ( São Roque) and the

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

of Ribeira de Santa Luzia which flows through to the Atlantic, and a circular area enveloped by the bridge of Torreão (over the Ribeira de Santa Luzia) and east by the Rua da Levada and Estrada de Livramento. The construction of the primary school EB2/3 Escola Básica de

Bartolomeu Perestrelo Bartolomeu Perestrello (, in Italian ''Bartolomeo Perestrello''), 1st Capitão Donatário, Lord and Governor of the Island of Porto Santo ( 1395 – 1457) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer that is claimed to have discovered and populated ...

(), with a capacity for 2000 students, has turned this parish into a new central place for Funchal, with the concentration of new residents in the community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imaculado Coracao De Maria Parishes of Funchal