Santa Maria Maior (Portuguese meaning Saint Mary the Great) is a civil parish in the eastern part of the municipality of Funchal on the island of Madeira. The population in 2011 was 13,352, in an area of 4.86 km<sup>2</sup>.
History
thumb|235px|left|The walled fortifications of the [[Fort of São Tiago, built to protect the coast from piracy during the 16th-17th century]]
From the initial founding of Funchal, the island of Madeira was peppered with small settlements along the coasts near access to the sea. The settlement that would later take on the name of Santa Maria Maior developed spontaneously from the first homes constructed in 1425. This agglomeration extended from Ribeira do João Gomes until Corpo Santo, along the beachfront, and concentrated around a small temple constructed to the invocation of Santa Maria, or Santa Maria do Calhau as it was briefly known. Santa Maria do Calhau, constructed in 1430, served the congregations east of the bay of Funchal, and was also known as Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Baixo (), or simply Santa Maria Maior. Finally, the ruins of the chapel were demolished in 1835, so that in its place (at the beginning of the Rua de Santa Maria Maior) was possible the construction of the Mercado da União (), which too was later removed in 1911.