"Mentioned in the Libro del Conoscimento in 1350 and shown on 14th Century Italian and Catalan maps, Madeira was only officially discovered by João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira in 1419, a year after they had discovered Porto Santo.
The island was named “Madeira” (which means “wood” in English) because of its abundance of that raw material.

57km long and 22km wide classify a destination that’s only small on the map. Grandiose in everything it has to offer, it is on Madeira, the main island of the archipelago bearing the same name, that the Laurissilva Forest can be found, classified by UNESCO as World Heritage Natural Site.

Contrasts are one of the archipelago’s biggest assets, helping to make this place a destination to which you will always want to return".

Source: http://issuu.com/apmadeirapt