Igreja da Nossa Senhora

Funchal


Some 68 stone steps climb dramatically to the doors of one of Madeira's finest churches, Monte's Igreja da Nossa Senhora. Rising in eye-balancing baroque symmetry, it was built in the wake of the 1748 earthquake which destroyed the original. The huge baroque altar bears the tiny statue of Our Lady, one of the most revered icons on the island. However a side chapel to the left as you enter attracts most attention – this contains the tomb of exiled Austrian Emperor Karl I.