João Gonçalves Zarco Monument

In order to preserve the memory of João Gonçalves Zarco and his work, one of the discoverers of Madeira and first Captain of Funchal, the Governing Board entrusted the sculptor Francisco Franco with the task of creating this statue. The architect Cristiano da Silva was charged with the design of the foundation, where allegoric figures relating to the Discoveries, such as ‘Conquer’, ‘Settlement’, ‘Wisdom’ and ‘Evangelisation’, are depicted.

After the final location at the intersection of Avenida Arriaga/Avenida Zarco was chosen, the monument was eventually inaugurated in 1934. A former version of this statue won the gold medal in the Iberian-American Exhibition in Seville in 1929.