The parish of Porto Moniz is one of the oldest parishes in the northern region of the island of Madeira.“

Janela da Clara” was the name of the territory that would give rise to this parish in 1572 and which covers the riverside area today from Fajã do Porto Moniz and Ribeira da Janela.

The two initial names, Ponta do Tristão and Ribeira da Clara, gave rise to the locations of Santa Maria da Madalenafor the first, and Ribeira da Janela and Porto Moniz for the second.

Francisco Moniz, “the Elder”, is considered one of its oldest settlers, married to a great-granddaughter of Zarco, of noble descent and natural from the Algarve, who owned land for sesmaria and would constitute an important nucleus of residents with the populated farm that he established and with the adjoining chapel built in honor of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, who is currently the patron saint of the parish and municipality. The name of this parish is due to its settler, giving its nickname to the port of refuge.

This parish is made up of the sites of “Vila, Junqueira, Levada Grande, Lamaceiros, Ribeirinho, Batalhão, Santa, Pico Alto, Pombais and Fazenda”.