São João da Madeira: Portugal's Hat Town

Thirty to forty minutes south of Porto is the small town that has been making hats since the 1700s. I went to make my own at Maraus and came back with the story of a whole town built on felt. Here is the history, and how to spend the afternoon.

By Edmund · Updated 2026-10-20

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Hats since the 1700s

Flaming the felt at the Maraus hat workshop in São João da Madeira

Mid-1700s: wool hats are already being made in the town.
1802: J. Gomes de Pinho opens the town's first hat factory.
1891: António José de Oliveira Júnior opens the first factory for fur-felt hats.
1914: he opens the Empresa Industrial de Chapelaria, the “Fábrica Nova”, for years the only factory in Portugal able to make the fine merino-wool “fashion hat”. It ran until 1995.
1946: 68% of everyone working in Portugal's hat industry works here.

The hatters were called unhas negras, black nails: the chemicals used in felting stained their fingertips, and for a long time the name stood for everyone from the town. Hats made here went around the world, from cowboy hats to the women's police hat in England, religious hats, cloches and top hats.

When hats went out of fashion, the town turned its hands to shoes. Today it is known across Portugal as the shoe capital.

Still the felt behind the world's hats

FEPSA, founded here in 1969 when six hat makers joined forces, makes the felt that hatters around the world shape into hats, and exports 99% of what it makes. In 2018 Forbes Portugal reported about 700,000 hats a year, around 40% of the luxury felt market, Chanel's hat house Maison Michel among its long-standing clients, and FEPSA felt in the Indiana Jones films.

The afternoon

Maraus is where the town's craft is still done by hand: Rui, a third-generation hatmaker, makes hats to measure, and you can make your own at his bench. Ordering, timing and booking are on the Maraus page, or go straight to Rui at maraus.com.

The Hat Museum (Museu da Chapelaria) opened in 2005 inside the old Fábrica Nova, with the machines and tools of the town's closed hat factories. It's next on my list.

Oliva Creative Factory, where Maraus has its atelier, is the old Oliva metalworks, closed in 2010 and now a creative hub of studios and an art centre. The town's industrial-tourism office also books visits inside working factories, FEPSA among them.

The Pão de Ló de Ovar Cardoso tile panel at Casa do Pão de Ló de Ovar Cardoso

On the way home, Ovar is about 20 minutes away and has its own pão de ló, and it's delicious. I go to Cardoso, Casa do Pão de Ló de Ovar, Rua Doutor José Falcão 91. Map ↗

Sources

Município de S. João da Madeira, Turismo Industrial: turismoindustrialsjm.pt (the hat industry since the 1700s and 1802; FEPSA, 1969; Oliva Creative Factory)
Área Metropolitana do Porto, intangible heritage register, “Indústria da Chapelaria”: piamp.amp.pt (1891; 1914; 68% in 1946; unhas negras; shoe capital)
Visit Portugal, Hat Museum: visitportugal.com and the Museu da Chapelaria: museudachapelaria.pt
FEPSA: fepsa.pt (99% exported); Forbes Portugal, 26 February 2018 (2018 figures)

Common questions

Why is São João da Madeira known for hats?

Hats have been made there since the mid-1700s; the first hat factory opened in 1802, and in 1946, 68% of Portugal's hat workers worked in the town. FEPSA, founded there in 1969, still exports 99% of its hat felt to hatters around the world.

What is there to do in São João da Madeira?

Have a hat made, or make your own, at Maraus; see the Hat Museum in the old Fábrica Nova; and visit working factories through the town's industrial-tourism office.

How far is São João da Madeira from Porto?

30 to 40 minutes by car. Make it an afternoon.