Santana, Madeira

Santana is a parish on the northern coast of Madeira famous for its traditional A-shaped thatched houses, called palheiros, which are a regional vernacular form now listed as part of Portuguese cultural heritage. The village is set within a deeply green agricultural landscape of smallholdings on the gentle slopes below the central mountain massif. The combination of the distinctive architecture, the surrounding pastoral scenery, and the misty northern exposure give Santana a markedly different character from the sun-facing southern coast.