Madeira Island - Typical Houses of Santana

MADEIRA
Typical houses of Santana.

Sent by David from Madeira Island.

This is from Wikipedia : Santana (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃ˈtɐnɐ]; from Portuguese Santa Ana, meaning Saint Anne) is a municipality along the northern coast of the archipelago of Madeira.

Santana includes six parishes, within a rugged mountainous environment, most occupying river-valleys:

* Arco de São Jorge
* Faial
* Ilha
* Santana - the parish (and town) has a population of 3439 (in 2001), in an area of 17.80 km² (a density of 193.2/km²);
* São Jorge
* São Roque do Faial

Santana parish has the largest number residents, while Arco de São Jorge is both the smallest, physically, and has the least number of residents, while Faial is the largest parish.

Santana is known for the traditional homes constructed with sloping triangular rooftops, and protected with straw. These were mainly rural homes, used by local farmers, during the settlment of the island, with white-paintd walls, red doors and windows with blue trim. Most of the surviving buildings are are tourist attractions, and maintained (for example, the straw roofs are replace every four to five years).

Santana has a few schools, one secondary school, a gymnasium, banks, a post office, a small port, beaches and squares or plazas (praças).

The main sources of industry are agriculture and tourism, while small commercial businesses are located centrally in the parish of Santana. A tourist-themed park was constructed to exhibit examples of the island's early history and culture; the Madeira Theme Park is an ample area, on 7 acres (28,000 m2) of land, where visitors re-discover the cultures of Madeira and Porto Santo. This includes exhibits on the island's history, artefacts used in daily life and cultural presentations, in a scenic environment.