Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 32.71825465329577, -16.767261234514606

The Solar Ribeirinho, built in the 17th century, and completely restored, houses the Núcleo Museológico de Machico. In this museum you can find, in a very interesting and interactive way, stories and characters that filled the more than 600 years of history of the current City.

The Solar do Ribeirinho - contextualization

The rehabilitation of built heritage is one of the main vectors for preserving and safeguarding the material record that identifies memory. This rehabilitation process, in addition to revealing itself in the set of actions tending to qualitatively improve a given building, has sought to deepen its scope in the surrounding space, in order to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the populations. Solar do Ribeirinho, also known as Solar de São Sebastião or Solar do Rosário, is a building from the end of the 17th century, implanted in the historic urban fabric of the City of Machico, at an altitude of approximately 10 meters. It is adjacent to Rua do Ribeirinho and limited to the north by Rua Padre Pontes, to the east by Rua do Ribeirinho and to the south by regional road 101.

The building of the manor appears connected to the Mendonça e Vasconcelos family, more precisely to the nobleman of the house of El-Rei, Matias de Mendonça e Vasconcelos. This Machiquense nobleman held various positions at the service of the King, including collecting taxation in the Alentejo wars and resolving disputes related to the sale of wine. Initially with a residential function, the manor house was, in 1831, the headquarters of Freemasonry, housing the “Clube Machiquense”. Until the middle of the 20th century it was owned by private individuals and was later acquired by the City Council of Machico.

After 1974, it was occupied by some families who had returned from the former Portuguese colonies in Africa and later served as the City Hall's warehouse. Considering the historical, archaeological and architectural interest of the property, the Municipality of Machico, in partnership with ARCHAIS – Association of Archeology and Defense of the Heritage of Madeira, requested the Regional Government of Madeira to start the classification process. In December 1998, Solar do Ribeirinho was classified as a Property of Local Value (currently a Property of Municipal Interest).

Museum

The project for this Museological Nucleus arose from the realization of the need to create in Machico a center with a museological profile, central, with a more general and pluridiverse theme in chronological and cultural terms. The creation of the “Núcleo Museológico de Machico – Espaço do Solar do Ribeirinho” has the central objective of providing a museum circuit, which can be visited, in the heart of the Historic Center of the City of Machico, integrating representative collections of the local historical memory.

The absence of a museum space that can be visited has, in a way, boosted cultural investment in this thematic modality of the museological scope, providing, in parallel, educational, training and didactic-pedagogical skills. Its creation is part of a heritage policy that seeks to enhance the various aspects of History and Local Cultural Heritage, namely in terms of architectural, archaeological, archival, historical-built, ethnographic and industrial heritage.

Having as facilities a space recovered through the restoration project of the experienced architect Victor Mestre who, following closely the new recovery guidelines of the “Venice Charter”, respected the pre-existence of the property, maintaining as much as possible the original structure of the building and modified its interior in order to respond to the requirements of the museum program for which the mansion is intended.

Being an emblematic place in the history of Machico, this manor house holds a great memory and is one of the first places where archeology was carried out in Madeira, being for this reason a reference of post-medieval archeology in Madeira. In a regional context where there are no archaeological sites that can be visited, the manor house enhances scientific and naturally tourist interest.

Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 32.71825465329577, -16.767261234514606

The Solar Ribeirinho, built in the 17th century, and completely restored, houses the Núcleo Museológico de Machico. In this museum you can find, in a very interesting and interactive way, stories and characters that filled the more than 600 years of history of the current City.

The Solar do Ribeirinho - contextualization

The rehabilitation of built heritage is one of the main vectors for preserving and safeguarding the material record that identifies memory. This rehabilitation process, in addition to revealing itself in the set of actions tending to qualitatively improve a given building, has sought to deepen its scope in the surrounding space, in order to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the populations. Solar do Ribeirinho, also known as Solar de São Sebastião or Solar do Rosário, is a building from the end of the 17th century, implanted in the historic urban fabric of the City of Machico, at an altitude of approximately 10 meters. It is adjacent to Rua do Ribeirinho and limited to the north by Rua Padre Pontes, to the east by Rua do Ribeirinho and to the south by regional road 101.

The building of the manor appears connected to the Mendonça e Vasconcelos family, more precisely to the nobleman of the house of El-Rei, Matias de Mendonça e Vasconcelos. This Machiquense nobleman held various positions at the service of the King, including collecting taxation in the Alentejo wars and resolving disputes related to the sale of wine. Initially with a residential function, the manor house was, in 1831, the headquarters of Freemasonry, housing the “Clube Machiquense”. Until the middle of the 20th century it was owned by private individuals and was later acquired by the City Council of Machico.

After 1974, it was occupied by some families who had returned from the former Portuguese colonies in Africa and later served as the City Hall's warehouse. Considering the historical, archaeological and architectural interest of the property, the Municipality of Machico, in partnership with ARCHAIS – Association of Archeology and Defense of the Heritage of Madeira, requested the Regional Government of Madeira to start the classification process. In December 1998, Solar do Ribeirinho was classified as a Property of Local Value (currently a Property of Municipal Interest).

Museum

The project for this Museological Nucleus arose from the realization of the need to create in Machico a center with a museological profile, central, with a more general and pluridiverse theme in chronological and cultural terms. The creation of the “Núcleo Museológico de Machico – Espaço do Solar do Ribeirinho” has the central objective of providing a museum circuit, which can be visited, in the heart of the Historic Center of the City of Machico, integrating representative collections of the local historical memory.

The absence of a museum space that can be visited has, in a way, boosted cultural investment in this thematic modality of the museological scope, providing, in parallel, educational, training and didactic-pedagogical skills. Its creation is part of a heritage policy that seeks to enhance the various aspects of History and Local Cultural Heritage, namely in terms of architectural, archaeological, archival, historical-built, ethnographic and industrial heritage.

Having as facilities a space recovered through the restoration project of the experienced architect Victor Mestre who, following closely the new recovery guidelines of the “Venice Charter”, respected the pre-existence of the property, maintaining as much as possible the original structure of the building and modified its interior in order to respond to the requirements of the museum program for which the mansion is intended.

Being an emblematic place in the history of Machico, this manor house holds a great memory and is one of the first places where archeology was carried out in Madeira, being for this reason a reference of post-medieval archeology in Madeira. In a regional context where there are no archaeological sites that can be visited, the manor house enhances scientific and naturally tourist interest.