Fodor's Expert Review Museu de Arte Sacra

Funchal's Museum of Sacred Art has Flemish paintings, polychrome wood statues, and other treasures displayed in a former bishop's palace. Most of the priceless paintings were commissioned by the first merchants of Madeira, who traded sugar for Flemish art so they could decorate their private chapels. The Adoration of the Magi was painted in 1518 for a wealthy trader from Machico and was paid for not in gold, but in sugar. You can tell how important this commodity was to the island by examining Funchal's coat of arms: it depicts five loaves of sugar in the shape of a cross. The museum offers guided tours in English on Wednesday and Thursday at 11 am.