The Principality of Pontinha: the tiny fort that declared independence
The story of the Principality of Pontinha, a small fort on a rock in Funchal harbour whose owner declared it an independent state in 2007, and how to see it today.
This page first appeared on Madeira Blog on 1 December 2007. We have rewritten it with up-to-date information.
In late 2007 this blog reported an unusual piece of news from Funchal’s harbour: a small fort on a rock had declared independence from Portugal. Nearly twenty years later, the Principality of Pontinha is still there, and still one of the strangest stories on the island.
The fort
The Forte de São José stands on a small volcanic rock at the end of Funchal’s seafront, where the long Pontinha pier, now the cruise ship terminal, begins. It was one of the old defences of the harbour, and when the pier was built the rock became joined to the land.
The independence claim
According to the story told by its owner, the Portuguese crown sold the islet in 1903 to a British family, with a royal charter that granted not only ownership but also “dominion” over it. In 2000 Renato Barros, a local art teacher, bought the fort from the family. In 2007 he declared the Principality of Pontinha independent, proclaiming himself Prince Renato II, with a flag, an anthem and passports for its few citizens.
Portugal has never recognised the claim, and the principality is best described as a micronation: part legal curiosity, part art project and part good-humoured protest. It has become a favourite of travel writers and appears in lists of the world’s smallest “countries”.
Can you visit?
The fort is sometimes open to visitors, when the steps up to it are unlocked; at other times you can only see it from outside. Either way, it is worth the short walk along the seafront from the old town towards the pier, especially if you are arriving on a cruise ship. See one day in Funchal from a cruise ship.
Nearby
The Pontinha webcam on our webcams page looks over the pier and the fort. The CR7 Museum and the marina are a few minutes’ walk away. See things to do in Funchal.