Museu Quinta das Cruzes

A decorative arts museum in a historic Madeiran quinta in Funchal, with furniture, ceramics, silver and gardens of orchids.

The courtyard of the Quinta das Cruzes Museum in Funchal

On a hillside above central Funchal, the Museu Quinta das Cruzes occupies one of the oldest estates in Madeira. Its rooms, filled with furniture, ceramics, silver and paintings, offer an intimate picture of domestic life among the island’s wealthy families, while its gardens are among the most peaceful in the city.

A Madeiran quinta

The estate is traditionally associated with the Zarco family, descendants of Joao Goncalves Zarco, who began the settlement of Madeira in the fifteenth century. The museum opened to the public in 1953 as the Casa Museu Cesar Gomes, built around the donation of the goldsmith Cesar Filipe Gomes and the later legacy of the collector Joao Wetzler, whose silver collection is one of the highlights of the house.

What to see

Furniture, ceramics, glassware, jewellery and textiles from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
The Wetzler silver collection, displayed in the former chapel.
Paintings and prints documenting the history of Madeira.
The gardens and courtyards, planted with orchids and exotic species, with views over the bay.