In the 17th and 18th century this square represented the commercial centre as well as the main entrance gate of the town. After the terrible attack of French pirates in 1566, fortification and defence of the island were the main interests of the ruling power and the inhabitants of Funchal. Therefore, walls with only five gates were built around the city for protection, and the rivers nearby served as a moat.
This was the reason why the Largo dos Varadouros gained a special importance for the city at the end of the 16th century. But due to urbanisation and redefinition of Funchal’s defence interests in the 19th century, the walls lost almost all military interests, and big parts of it were ceded by the military and later destroyed. |
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