This annual festival celebrates the stay of Christopher Columbus on the Island of Porto Santo back in the 15th century.
Between the 14th and 16th of September, The Vila Baleira Hotel, on the Island of Porto Santo, hosts another edition of the Columbus Festival, an event celebrating the years that the Italian sailor Christopher Columbus spent living on the island.
Several activities compose this year's edition of the event, itself part of the Madeira archipelago's official calendar for tourist activities. The first day will see the landing of Christopher Columbus re-enacted at nightfall as the sailor is brought to shore on board of a replica of his ship, the Santa Maria.
There will also be a medieval fair alluding to the 1500's, the age of discovery, exploration and the trade of sugar, an economic linchpin of the Madeira Archipelago. It is to that period, more specifically 1478, that the first links between the Italian sailor and Madeira date back.
As the clock winds back on the island, entertainment will be plentiful, ranging from musical shows and theatre plays to exhibitions and parades as well as gastronomy and circus arts.
The Columbus Festival is a true landmark of tourism in Porto Santo and it alone brings a substantial number of visitors to the island. All who come are treated to a trip down the past as they enjoy the best of the age of Discovery.
