Historic Town of Ouro Preto In Brazil

Historic Town of Ouro Preto - Brazil

Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the focus of the gold rush and Brazil the golden age in the 18th century. With the exhaustion of the gold mines in the 19th century, the city influence decreased but many churches, bridges and fountains remain as a testimony of the past prosperity and the exceptional talent of the Baroque sculptor Aleijadinho.

Description

Located on a 513 km north of Rio de Janeiro Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the center of gravity of the period is known as the Golden Age of Brazil. Originally called Vila Rica, this city has played a leading role in the Brazilian history in the 18th century. It was created by thousands of soldiers of fortune excited to enrich themselves by abuse of the gold; they were closely followed by many artists who live and produce high-quality, such as the Sao Francisco Assis church by Antonio Francisco Lisboa (Aleijadinho).

Ouro Preto, the old capital of Minas Gerais, owes its origin to the discovery and exploitation of the gold. The creation in 1698 of the -Capitana Hotel Sao Paulo e Minas do Ouro has led to the former mining settlements be converted into villas (small cities), the second Vila Rica, in 1712. Minas Gerais was a self-employed person -Capitana Hotel in 1720, with Vila Rica as capital. The growth of the city was fast as a result of the rich mineral resources, and developed a private urban functions typical of a mining town. In the last years of the 18th century it was a center of the movement for the emancipation of Brazil called Inconfidência Mineira of colonial domination. A rapid reduction of mineral resources and mining has led to the deterioration of the economy of this part of the province. In 1823 its status is changed to that of an imperial city, with the new name of Ouro Preto and this has attracted a number of higher education institutions, but with the transfer of the provincial capital in 1897 to Belo Horizonte the fortunes of Ouro Preto declined again. Since the 1930 is essentially a tourist center.

The town was formed by the merging of small settlements (arriais) in a hilly landscape, where the houses, mostly one or two floors, seem to support a irregular urban layout that the contours of the landscape. However, the resources derived from mining, linked to the talent of artists such as Aleijadinho and others, a number of striking architectural and artistic masterpieces. A 'extraction' Baroque style developed in the second half of the 18th century successfully fused Brazilian influences with European Baroque and Rococo. The church of Sao Francisco de Assis is considered a masterpiece of the Brazilian architecture. Ouro Preto also features a number of other beautiful churches and religious buildings, such as the church of Our Lady of the pillar-lady, the A. g. do Rosário dos Pretos Homens, the Virgin of the Conceição, and the Virgin of Carmel, the House of the Baroness, the chafarizes of the High Da Cruz and Alto of the head.

Tiradentes Park Square is the central point where all roads. Surrounded by imposing public and private buildings, such as the old Parliament House (1784), today the Museum of the Inconfidência and the Palace of the Governor, which has since the School of mines and metallurgy. The townscape of Ouro Preto is also noteworthy for the bridges and fountains, all mixing in an urban and natural surroundings of great beauty.

Source:whc/unesco