History
The Estalagem Quintinha de São João is one of the oldest senior residential manor houses in Funchal. It reliably represents the Madeiran heritage and plays an important part in the history of Madeira, portraying itself nowadays as a property perfectly integrated within the landscape of the city.
The history of the Quinta can be traced back to the eighteenth Century, although the estate has gone through significant alterations since then. Here follows some illustrations:
The “Quinta of the First-Born Sons of Saint John”, as it was initially called, was a vast property whose boundaries extended to the present day centre of Funchal, and belonged to the Viscount of Saint John, Diogo Berenguer de França Neto.
The result, however, of an intense and dissipated social life, together with bad management of wealth, caused all the family assets, including the Quinta, to be sold off to compensate creditors.
There are no records relating to the property for some years, but it is understood that, in 1900, relatives of the old owner redeemed the Quinta.
Dr. Rui de Bettencourt da Câmara and his wife began, at this time, an operation to restore the old birthright, including improving and enlarging the property with a small chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Redemption and Mercy. Unfortunately this chapel no longer exists.
The reasons that led to the subsequent breaking up and parcelling of the vast Quinta were never made public but small Quintas sprung up in the grounds, with the Quintinha de São João being one of them. This is distinguished by its magnificent doorway, adorned with coloured tiles from the factory in Santana.
The Quintinha de São João initially belonged to Maurice Faber and Georgina Von Rees, being inherited by their nephew, Dr. Hans Alfred Faber who lived there until his death in 1979.
The surviving members of the Faber family sold the property in 1982 to the present owner, José Barreto, who is responsible for the appraisal and renovation of the “motherhouse”.
With the intention of rendering lucrative a tract of land that was unprofitable and left to waste, José Barreto fulfilled the desire to erect the Estalagem Quintinha de Sao João to what it is today - a perfect example of the old Madeiran residences, majestically integrated into the panorama of the island and a tourist product of the highest quality.
Along the years (both before and after the hotel was inaugurated), various personalities have passed through the Estalagem Quintinha de São João, such as the Dukes of Bragança – D. Duarte and D. Francisca -, the Princess of Savoy, the unfortunate Fado singer Amália Rodrigues and sea captain Jacques Cousteau. The actual restaurant “A Morgadinha” was once the house of the painter Max Romer.
