Reviews
The following book is on the Society's Publication list and is available from the Library.
SÃO LOURENÇO PALACE by José Leite Monteiro
In 1950 José Leite Monteiro wrote and published the book “Palácio de São Lourenço na Cidade do Funchal”. As Acting Governor of Madeira for long periods, his office was right in the centre of the Palace with records and manuscripts at his fingertips.
Nowadays, however, there is a dearth of information about this beautiful Palace which stands overlooking the bay of Funchal.
For this reason, in 2001 the author’s son, Francisco Leite Monteiro, supported by the Madeira Government Cultural Department, decided to re-issue the book which is now on sale in Funchal. Following that, together with his wife Susan Roebuck Leite Monteiro, he arranged for the book to be translated into English and “São Lourenço Palace” has now been published.
The reader is taken back to the time of the Donatários when the Palace was known as the São Lourenço Fortress, then through the invasion of French adventurers – commanded by Pierre de Montluc – and onto 1807 when Madeira was occupied by British forces. In the meantime, the Fortress underwent successive construction work before it gained its title of Palace. Descriptions of Royal visits and sumptuous banquets transport the reader into the twentieth century right up to 1950 when José Leite Monteiro wrote this fascinating book.