João Gonçalves Zarco was one of the discoverers of Madeira, among with Tristão Vaz Teixeira and Bartolomeu Dias. He was the captain that ordered by Henry The Navigator went on the expedition that discovered Porto Santo Island in 1418 and Madeira Island in 1419. As a reward for this Prince Henry nominated him the first donee captain of Funchal.

To celebrate the five hundred years since Madeira discovery, in June 1918 the Municipality of that epoch order the sculptor Francisco Franco a monument in honour of João Gonçalves Zarco. It took 10 years to finish this statue and in 1929 it took part of an International Exhibition in Seville, Spain.

Photo by Catarina Fagundes

On the 28th of May of 1934 this monument was inaugurated and put in the centre of Funchal city, on the entrance of the city, for those who came by ship. With the conception of this statue Francisco Franco has launched a new era of sculptures in Portugal, where one can observe heroic figures that belong to history. It was called the Golden Age of Sculpture.