Page 3 of 6
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Page 3 of 6 |
| Santana is the village where António was born. The trip from Funchal to Santana takes you across the island through beautiful valleys and mountains. We decided not to use the new highway system. Instead we used the old winding road through the valleys and peaks trying to imagine what would be like 120 years ago when the roads were nothing but "goat tracks". Santana lays on the other side of the mountains in the background. There is an old joke that explains the reason why the old Madeirenses were short, stocky and with bow legs: because they had to carry heavy loads up and down the mountains. |
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Along the way one came across several picturesque villages like this one. However it is almost impossible to see "old" houses. |
Not very hard to find the way to Santana. No mater whether you turn right or left you will end up in Santana. |
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An old stop on the side of the road to Santana where most likely people could get supplies of fresh water. We tried unsuccessfully to find out what was this place. The contraption behind us is most likely the actuator for the valve that controls the flow of water to the "levada". |
To distribute water to the various properties a system of channels (Levadas) was built at the end of XV century and still operates today. They are an amazing system of dams and aqueducts bringing the water from the mountains to the villages. An ingenious system of gates and valves allows people along the way to divert the flow of water to their properties. |
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The original houses in Santana were these funny looking "A" frames. Today very few people live in them but you still see them being used as storage places in the little farms. These two houses are a tourist attraction at the entrance of Santana and figured in most of the brochures you will see about Madeira. |
Santana, the birth place of the Costa family |
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The Costa's in Santana's main square, standing in front of the church where António was baptised |
We looked for vestiges of the old village but couldn't see any as Santana is now a "modern" village with new houses reflecting the architectural styles of the places where the Madeirenses emigrated to. Finally we discovered this old house and "decided" that it must have been the one that António lived☺... otherwise our trip to Santana would have been in vain. |
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The street sign of the Santa Ana street and a view of Santana from the lookout |
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