t Sunset over the whitewashed houses of Ouro Preto
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Ouro Preto, or “Black Gold,” earned its name from the tarnished gold nuggets mined in the area. By the mid-18th century the gold rush had turned Ouro Preto into a wealthy town and it nurtured some of the continent’s finest artists. The town was also the base of the Inconfidência Mineira, an unsuccessful separatist movement led by Tiradentes against Portuguese colonists.
t Sunset over the whitewashed houses of Ouro Preto
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This understated, elegant little church was constructed between 1766 and 1802 and seems modest next to many of Latin America’s grand Baroque churches. It is characterized by gentle curves, from the elegant S-shaped balustrades of its facade to the exquisitely unified, undulating lines of its interior. The quality of the church’s beauty lies in the mastery of its art, created by two of Brazil’s greatest artists, Aleijadinho and his long-term partner Manuel da Costa Athayde (1762–1830). The tablet on the church’s facade showing St. Francis receiving the stigmata is believed to have been Aleijadinho’s first great carving. It was followed by others, including the ornately carved door-case and the front of the sacristy at the rear of the church.
Chico Rei, enslaved in Ouro Preto’s 18th-century gold mines, is thought to have been a former king from the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo. The king, his family, and his people were captured by Portuguese traders, shipped to Brazil and sold into slavery. Having eventually gained his freedom, Chico Rei became the owner of a mine in turn, and earned legendary status for his tireless efforts to free other enslaved people.
Rebel leader Tiradentes was nicknamed “tooth puller”, in reference to his former job as a dentist.
Commissioned by two of the wealthiest ecclesiastical orders in Ouro Preto, this church was intended as a showpiece of their influence. Pomp and circumstance surrounded its inauguration in 1731, which witnessed grand processions of clergy in opulent vestments and horses in velvet mantles mounted by knights in diamond-studded robes.
Today, the greatest display of wealth is inside the church. Nearly half a ton of both gold and silver were used to gild its spectacular interior, which is largely the work of 18th-century sculptor Francisco Xavier de Brito, an expatriate Portuguese. The gilt carving of Christ on the Cross on the door-case to the capela-mor (apsidal chapel) and the Resurrection scene on the tabernacle are regarded as de Brito’s finest work.
Built by Manuel Francisco Lisboa between 1727 and 1770, this church is most celebrated for its harmonious proportions – the unity of curves and straight lines on the facade, and the sense of space generated by what is in reality a modest nave and chancel. Manuel Francisco only added the finishing touches to the interior, and the other contributing sculptors remain largely unknown. The church is currently closed for renovations, with no date for its reopening yet set.
This former gold mine offers guided tours, which take visitors on a journey through the lives of miners, many of whom were enslaved people from Africa. It gives an insight into their technical skills, resilience, and the impact of their presence during the gold rush in Ouro Preto.
Some local legends maintain that this is the mine that Chico Rei, widely known as Galanga, later purchased as a free man. Rei bought his freedom in the 1740s with mined gold that he had hidden in his hair.
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eat O Passo Pizzajazz This upmarket pizzeria has great views and live jazz at weekends. ⌂ Rua São José 56 ∑ opassopizzajazz.com \\\ Confeitaria Largo do Rosario A pretty little café offering delicious homemade cakes and snacks. ⌂ Largo do Rosario 91 § (31) 3551 5685 ¢ Sun \\\ Senhora Gastronomia Head to this elegant hotel dining room for modern Minas cuisine. ⌂ Rua Getulio Vargas 270 ∑ hotelsolardorosario.com \\\ |
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Vineyards in the Serra Gaúcha outside of Bento Gonçalves, the center of Brazil’s wine region
More than anywhere else in the country, southern Brazil has been shaped culturally and economically by immigrants. Unlike tropical Brazil further north, the south was considered unsuitable for plantations, and immigrants were recruited by the government to occupy pieces of land and become small farmers. The south’s isolation and distinction from the rest of Brazil is reflected in the languages and cultures of its population.
In the beginning of the 1800s, settlers from the Portuguese island of the Azores arrived in Brazil to establish farming and fishing settlements. The Azoreans created villages along the coast of southern Brazil, in particular on the island of Santa Catarina, whose white-and-blue buildings resemble those seen on the Portuguese mid-Atlantic islands.
t A band playing at the official Oktoberfest parade in Blumenau
In the 1850s, Germans were the first to settle in southern Brazil after the Portuguese. They were drawn to Rio Grande do Sul’s highlands and Santa Catarina’s northern valleys where German traditions and dialects are still strong. Cities like Blumenau, where South America’s biggest Oktoberfest takes place, and Nova Hamburgo have some of Brazil’s most well-preserved German architecture.
The first Italian immigrants settled in Rio Grande do Sul in 1875, with tens of thousands arriving there, and in Santa Catarina and Paraná, over the next 50 years. The majority came from northern Italian provinces like Veneto and Trento, introducing rich culinary traditions and the skills and knowledge to cultivate lucrative grape vines on the steep hillsides. Vineyards in the Serra Gaúcha outside of Bento Gonçalves are as much a part of the landscape as they are in Italy.
t The Ukrainian Memorial located in Park Tingüi in Curitiba, built in 1995
Slavic immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe were drawn to Paraná, with Poles settling in and around Curitiba from 1869, Ukrainians in the southcentral part of the state from 1895, and Russians around Ponta Grossa in the early 1960s. Today there are around 300,000 Brazilians of Ukranian descent, and 80 percent live in Paraná. Prudentópolis, west of Curitiba, is the epicenter of Ukraine-Brazilian culture.
The Serra Gaúcha region is responsible for 80 percent of Brazil’s wine production.