Publication "City Guides" - Erasmus Projet "Let´s hit the road" City Guides -final | Page 17

CITY GUIDES
Museums
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Museum of Sacred Art
Housed in a 16th century palace, former residence of the bishops of Funchal, the
Sacred Art Museum is one of Funchal's oldest and best preserved museums.
The Funchal Museum of Sacred Art is housed in the former Episcopal Palace, founded
in 1594 by D. Luís Figueiredo de Lemos. It is made up of collections of painting,
sculpture, goldsmiths and parliamentarians, chronologically dating from the period
between the 15th and 19th centuries.
Of the museum's collections, two main groups stand out: the Flemish Art, with
painting, sculpture and jewelery, dating from the end of the fifteenth century to the
early years of the sixteenth century; and that of Portuguese Art, from the 15th to the
18th century.
Flemish painting from the 15th and 16th centuries is distinguished not only by the
great quality of the paintings but also by its large dimensions, which are uncommon in
European museums.
The 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries jewelery center includes the 15th-century
processional cross of Água de Pena, a 16th-century Antwerp-shaped tray and chalice,
as well as the processional cross, gift of D. Manuel I to the Funchal Cathedral.
This museum has recently opened to the public a new architectural space - Torre
Varanda Mirante, a structure that is typical of the Madeiran urban palaces of the 19th
century. XVIII, initially intended for observation of ships entering and leaving Funchal
bay.
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