Ouro Preto and Itacolomy peak
Surrounded by mountains and displaying a view at the same time beautiful and mysterious, Ouro Preto shows itself as a city that gathers past and present with its large baroque houses built with enormous stones that are also found in the streets. It was first named Vila Rica and, in 1720, it became the seat of the government of Minas Gerais, that had recently been separate from São Paulo.
The main square in Ouro Preto (Tiradentes square)
In the beginning of the XIX century it was considered the capital of Minas Gerais bearing the name Ouro Preto. Its history is full of fights and glories and it was the birthplace of Inconfidência Mineira. From this movement a martyr was born, Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, Tiradentes. The main square in Ouro Preto shows the statue and name of this great martyr, who started the fight for Brazilian independence from Portugal.
Ouro Preto, with its steep and twisting streets and its houses in colonial style, was considered a Historic Site by UNESCO and attracts millions of people every year. Visiting Ouro Preto is feeling as if you had come across the Portuguese Empire with its carriages and the sound of horse’s shoes on the stones – that were carried by barefoot slaves and used in the streets and houses of the city. Visiting Ouro Preto is also being dazzled by Antonio Francisco Lisboa´s work, the Aleijadinho, whose baroque art embellishes the churches, producing magnificent and indescribable aspect. In Ouro Preto you can feel in the air the inspirations of poets such as Cláudio Manoel da Costa and Tomaz Antônio Gonzaga, with a mixture of romance and disputes, museums and villains, moon and sun.
And when you wake from this past, the view of Itacolomy Peak invites you to recover the living memory in the museums of Inconfidência, Mineralogia, Moeda and Fisco, Casa Guinard, and da Prata. Is also invites you to visit churches, among which Pilar, São Francisco de Assis and Antônio Dias. It is impossible to leave the city without visiting Chico Rei Mine, the State Park, and the Park of Cachoeira das Andorinhas. It is a magic and unforgettable trip!…. Ouro Preto is well known for its preservation of customs and tradition, what makes the city a place of art and magic.
It´s 300 years of historic and cultural wealth.