Gaula (Madeira) Gaula (Madeira) Gaula is a Portuguese civil parish, in the municipality of Santa Cruz in the island of Madeira. The population in 2011 was 4,028, in an area of 6.95 km². It is located northeast of the island capital of Funchal. Gaula's history is tied to universe of local history, popular culture, literature, traditions and customs; it was originally referred to as the "terra do amadis de Gaula" ("Land of Amadis de Gaula"), "terra de adelos” ("Land of the wandering salesmen"), "terras de doutores" ("Lands of the Doctors"), "terra de padres" ("Land of Priests"), "terra das amoras" ("Land of the
Carnival of Madeira Carnival of Madeira The Carnival of Madeira (Carnaval in Portuguese) is an annual festival held forty days before Easter, that ends on Shrove Tuesday (called Fat Tuesday in Madeira - Terça-feira Gorda in Portuguese) the day before Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent). On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from "carnelevare", "to remove (literally, "raise") meat." One of the first major festivals of the year in Madeira, apart from the Dia dos Reis, the Madeira carnival is known as one of the best in Europe. Traditionally,