Page 361 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Portugal

coast. To see how the village ago during a volcanic
looked before development eruption. Visitors can walk
began, visit the Igreja Matriz, the 1-km (0.6-mile) trail of
which was built in the 17th excavated lava channels
cen tury, and look at the ceiling dripping with stalactites. By
paint ing of St Vincent bless ing the caves’ entrance is the
the town. He appears again Volcanism Centre. Inside, the
over the elabo rately carved centre presents audio-visual
main altar, blessing a ship. shows recreating the geo-
Around the church, cobbled logical evolution of the
traffic-free streets are lined caves, the eruption of a
with boutiques, bars and shops volcano and the birth of
selling sweet cakes, including the Madeira archipelago.
the popu lar Madeiran speci- Around 8 km (5 miles)
ality bolo de mel, the so-called northwest is Seixal. Despite
“honey cake” (actu ally made the storms that batter the
with molasses and fruit). coast, this village occupies a
Nearly 20 m (65 ft) below remarkably shel tered spot,
the ground is a network of where vineyards cling to the
caves, the Grutas e Centro do hillside terraces, producing
Vulcanismo de São Vicente, excellent wine.
which formed 850,000 years
Grutas e Centro do
13 The agricultural Vulcanismo de
São Vicente
São Vicente ⌂ Sitio do Pé do Passo
town of São Vincente
! A7 @ n Avenida Arriaga grew prosperous by # 10am–6pm daily
16, Funchal; 291 211 902 tempting travellers ∑ grutasecentrodo
vulcanismosaovicente.com
The agricultural town of São to break their jour­
Vincente grew pros perous by neys here as they
tempting travellers to break explore Madeira’s The beautifully
their jour neys here as they decorated interior of
explore Madeira’s northern northern coast. São Vicente’s church

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