Funchal

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Funchal

			-	Coat of arms	Flag	-	-	Map		-	Map not yet available		-	Statistics		- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"	Region:	Madeira Islands	- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"	District:	Madeira Island	- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"	Population:	103,962 2001	- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"	Area:	76.25 km²	- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"	Density	1,363.44/km²	bgcolor="#FFFFFF"	Altitude:	Lowest and Centre: Atlantic Ocean Highest: about 1,400 m (northwest)	bgcolor="#FFFFFF"	Number of parishes:	10	-

Funchal (pron. IPA ^*), population approximately 110,000 (1991), is the capital of the Madeira Islands of Portugal. Funchal is also the largest city on the islands and is ranked after Câmara de Lobos and Machico. It was founded by João Gonçalves Zarco in 1421 and was elevated to city by King Manuel I in 1508.

The city is named after fennel, ('funcho' in Portuguese), which grows in abundance on the island.

Funchal is passed with a main road linking to both parts of the island and another road linking north to Faial and Santana. Funchal is located 21 km south of Faial, about 25 km S of Santana, 17 km SW of Machico, about 7 km E of Câmara de Lobos and about 37 km ESE of Calheta.

Part of Funchal Municipality is Ilhas Selvagens (Savage Islands and Desertas Islands), two nature reserve islands 160 km (100 mi) South of Funchal.

Funchal is bypassed by Madeira's only superhighway to the north east and northwest which accesses to Santa Cruz, the Madeira airport and Câmara de Lobos.

Location:

Latitude: 32.633 (32°38') N
Longitude: 16.9 (16°54') W

Parishes

Here are the ten boroughs of Funchal:

A crater named Funchal is founded on planet Mars.

History

In the early 1400s, Alvaro Fernandes was the commander of Funchal.

In the 16th century Funchal was important as a stopping place between the Indies and the New World, and was known as a wealthy place. It was also the port for Madeiran sugar and wine.

Some Navy ships including USS Arkansas, USS Chicago, USS John Hancock, USS Salem, CSS Shenandoah, USS Shenandoah, USS Yorktown'' visited the port.

Funchal hosted the Funchal Island Tournament in 1981 with Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama of the Brazilian League.

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