Dracaena draco is an endemic plant that used to cover the southern coast of the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo. Its sap, in contact with air, oxidizes and becomes red as blood. This “dragon’s blood” was used as a dye in pharmaceuticals and dyeing since the 15th century, and its demand and export led to the near extinction of the dragon tree.

The garden is the ideal place for a journey through three centuries of history and urban architecture in color. The restored 18th century building was painted with a lime-based paint in ocher, a recurring color in Madeira’s fortresses. The pink, common in Madeiran quintas (estates), was maintained in the library area to preserve the color already present in this part of the building.

In the Rua das Pretas, which still has the 16th-century layout, there was the pastry shop Iris in the 20th century, which is remembered in the name of the lounge bar and its sign (partly original).

Also on display are some bottles of “Zeca” wine, the nickname by which the hotel’s founder, José Nicolau Fernandes Correia, is known. 300 numbered bottles of this commemorative wine were produced for Mr. Zeca’s 80th birthday.

On the upper floor of the print shop in Rua das Pretas (1950s) was the warehouse of Casa Pathé, a store for various goods, especially photography and music, located in Rua Câmara Pestana. These are some of the objects recovered from this warehouse.

Commissioned painting by Filipa Venâncio, portraying the owners of our hotel, José and Zita Correia, in their family room.

Using the same indigo blue tone used in the Madeira embroidery stamping process, the artist has created to order a set of six paintings celebrating the bread once produced in this space.

The artist created to order a “baker” in oil on wood, which she named Guiomar for personal reasons. Curiously, at Rua do Castanheiro No. 20 lived Dona Guiomar Madalena de Sá e Vilhena (1705-1789), heiress of the family business that she managed and grew since 1766.

Born in Lisbon, he is also known as Saint Anthony of Padua, where he died on June 13, 1231. He belonged to the Franciscan order and is one of the most popular saints of the Catholic Church.

This room divider, commissioned from the painter Filipa Venâncio, consists of six panels (I-VI, from left to right), each with three images (1-3, from top to bottom), representing the old Madeira, such as traditional means of transport, sports activities or important events that marked the history of the island. The work is a reproduction by the artist based on photographs of the time.