Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Honourable Mayor of Funchal,
Honourable Speaker of the Municipal Assembly,
Honourable Representative of the Republic in the Madeira Autonomous Region,
Honourable Speaker of the Regional Parliament,
Honourable President of the Regional Government,
Reverend Bishop of Funchal,
Honourable Councillors and Members of the Municipal Assembly,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

“As Saudades da Terra” (Nostalgia for my Land) is the name of the book that Gaspar Frutuoso dedicated to the Atlantic Islands, and which has been timely re-edited for the commemorations of the 500 years of the city of Funchal.

If I could be allowed a personal note, I miss this land. All who visit here, leave with nostalgia and come back to Funchal and to Madeira.

There aren’t many cities that, such as Funchal, can be proud of five centuries of History. But more than that, Funchal can be proud of being the first city to be chartered in the vast domains of the Discoveries.

When we commemorate the charter of Funchal as a city we naturally recall several moments of its multi secular History. Great navigators visited here: Christopher Columbus, Luís de Cadamosto or James Cook. Individualities such as Napoleon Bonaparte, the future emperor Maximilian of Mexico, the empress Elizabeth of Austria, immortalized as Sissy, also came here.

But Funchal was never just a transit stop. Since the times of João Gonçalves Zarco, Funchal was a place of destination and settlement of men and wills. Of the will to go farther, which drove airmen Sacadura Cabral, Gago Coutinho and Ortins de Bettencourt to the first international flight over the Atlantic Ocean, which ended in Funchal and was the test for the epic flight that, in the following year, would lead them to carry out the first air crossing of the South Atlantic.

It is this same will to go farther that, after five centuries, we continue to find in the people of Madeira. The modernization and development of Funchal is a sign that the people of Madeira always want to go farther, even if they remain in their native land. The progress we find in each step we take in this city, as old as it is beautiful, well demonstrates the indomitable will of the people of the Madeira Autonomous Region.

The commemoration of five hundred years of History is, without doubt, a festive occasion. But celebrating the past only makes sense when it is stamped with the certainty of the present and a hope for the future.

What makes Funchal such a special city is, precisely, this crossing between a memory aged of five centuries and a modernity which is the pride of all the people of Madeira. Under the cover of a Nature which fascinates by its exuberance, the past and the future cross each other here, in an entrancing combination. The explosion of colour which, at each year end, is reflected in the waters of the bay of Funchal is now one of the most expressive instances of a land which brings nostalgia to all who know it.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On this occasion, which is a festivity but also a solemn ceremony, I wish to very heartily greet the citizens of Funchal. Above all else, it is they who deserve the tribute. Throughout five centuries, they developed the extraordinary capability to build, in the middle of the immense Atlantic, a capital city that attracts visitors from all corners of the world. It could be said that this eternal recurrence of History is somewhat cryptic.

Funchal was a decisive spot for the Portuguese to discover the world. Now, it is a decisive spot for foreigners to discover Portugal. But, should we look closer to reality, we would be able to discover what currently makes Funchal a land of arrival, instead of a land of departure. All that is required is to see the vitality of Madeira’s civil society, the spirit of adventure of its entrepreneurs, the endeavour and capability of the regional authorities for achievement, to realize that there is nothing cryptic in this five hundred year old project. What really does exist is a will to conquer, to toil, for the pride to be greater, the wish to go farther. With these qualities, Funchal learned how to grow throughout five hundred years, without allowing itself to be caught by the weight of its past but, nevertheless, without rejecting it.

To respect and value this lengthy past is the duty of memory. Thus my concern with the safeguard of our heritage, which has taken me to many places in our Country. This is also one of the reasons which bring me to Madeira at this time.

I take this opportunity to salute the efforts of the local authorities in the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the city, and to appeal that they should never lose sight of this imperative need to preserve for future generations what we have inherited from those who preceded us. I am certain that all the people of Madeira, in this year of celebration of the fifth century of Funchal, stand together in this wish to build the future without sacrificing the past.

Your Excellency, as Mayor of this City, as well as all the Councillors, can be proud, with your dynamism and your ambition, to have contributed towards making Funchal a yet more attractive and welcoming city, from which one departs always with the wish to return.

I am thus very grateful to have received the Gold Medal of the City of Funchal with which you honoured me. I interpret this gesture as a welcome and a tribute to the President of the Republic, but equally addressed to all the Portuguese.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I will be visiting the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo during the next few days. I wish to have a close look at what has been achieved in this Region. And it is also my objective to become better acquainted with the ambitions of the people of Madeira as to their future, as well as the challenges and concerns they are currently facing.

My visit to the Madeira Autonomous Region would naturally have to start in Funchal. Not just because this is the year of celebration of its five hundredth anniversary, but also because this is where a course was initiated. A journey that led us to the four corners of the earth, in this adventure that left an indelible stamp in the destinies of Humanity. The contribution that Madeira gave to the Portuguese Discoveries is written into History. And we are all aware of the role that the city of Funchal fulfilled in the Lusitanian maritime epic.

It is our duty, therefore, when facing the coming generations, to duly celebrate such a great event. We have the patriotic duty to commemorate this high point in our History which was the founding of the city of Funchal. For this reason I congratulate all that contributed to the vast and rich programme for these Commemorations, which will continue throughout 2008, with multiple and diversified initiatives.

I would like to terminate by greeting, through this city of Funchal, all the people of Madeira. You are the owners of five hundred years of life, of work and contention in the name of a collective purpose which is called Portugal.

Thank you very much.