Brazil - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 263

Hospital Ambulance T 192. Pronto Socorro do Hospital
João XXIII, Av Alfredo Balena 400, Santa Efigênia ( T 31
3239 9200).
Internet Camaleão Lan House at Rua São Paulo 1409; Pro-
Terra Cyber Café at Av Augusto de Lima 134; at the rodoviária
try the top floor of the neighbouring shopping mall.
Laundry Lavanderia Just a Sec, at Rua dos Guajajaras
1268, Centro (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 8am-1pm).
Police T 190. For visa extensions go to the Polícia Federal
at Rua Nascimento Gurgel 30, Gutierrez ( T 31 3330 5200).
Post o ce Central Correio, Av Afonso Pena 1270 (Mon-
Fri 8am-5pm).
Taxis Coomotaxi T 31 3419 2020, T 0800 39 2020;
Coopertáxi/BH T 31 3421 2424, T 0800 97 92424.

lively university town include the Festival
do Cinema Brasileiro in mid-June, Festival
do Jazz in September and Festival das
Letras , a literary event, in November.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
The town is best explored on foot,
taking in the cobbled passageways
between its handful of stunning churches,
two excellent museums, and numerous
shopping and eating options - but be
prepared for lots of uphill climbing.

Praça Tiradentes
Praça Tiradentes lies at the heart of Ouro
Preto, with several sights right on the
square. he Museu da Inconfidência
(Tues-Sun noon-6pm; R$6, students
R$3) inside the Paço Municipal describes
the town's fascinating local history, and
includes the tomb of Tiradentes, leader
of the failed Inconfidência Mineira
rebellion. Numerous documents, torture
instruments, Indo-Portuguese images and
statuettes - notably nine exquisite figures
by Aleijadinho - and other interesting
everyday objects bring the eighteenth
century to life. On the opposite side of
the square, inside the vast Escola de Minas ,
the Museu de Ciência e Técnica da Escola
de Minas (Tues-Sun noon-5pm; R$3)
houses a large geological and mineralogical
collection, including gemstones from
all over the world. There is also an
astronomical observatory (Sat 8-10pm).

3

OURO PRETO
Founded at the end of the seventeenth
century, OURO PRETO (“Black Gold”)
could well be the prettiest town in Brazil.
Built on a hill in the Serra do Espinhaço,
the former capital of Minas Gerais is
home to some of the finest Baroque
architecture in the country and was
the birthplace of renowned sculptor
Aleijadinho . The town was also the focal
point of the Inconfidência Mineira ,
a failed attempt in 1789 to break from
the colony and form a Brazilian republic.
People flock to Ouro Preto from all over
Brazil for Semana Santa , with its grand
processions and Passion plays in open-air
theatres, while Carnaval also attracts large
crowds; book in advance at both these
times. Other enjoyable festivals in this

ALEIJADINHO
The most important sculptor in colonial Brazil, Antônio Francisco Lisboa (1738-1814) was born
in Ouro Preto to a slave mother and a Portuguese architect father, Manoel Lisboa. Self-taught,
Aleijadinho was exceptionally prolific, turning out scores of profoundly original works, an
achievement made all the more remarkable by the fact that from his mid-thirties he suffered from
a degenerative disease (presumably leprosy) which led to loss of movement in his legs and hands,
eventually forcing him to sculpt using chisels strapped to his wrists while apprentices moved him
around on a trolley (the name Aleijadinho translates literally as “little cripple”). His extraordinary
works reflect his Christian spirituality and abound in many of the cidades históricas , particularly
Ouro Preto, where the Museu Aleijadinho offers further insights. His most famous works of all,
however, sculpted towards the end of his life and credited with introducing greater realism into
Baroque art, are the 76 life-size figures at the Basílica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinhos in
the otherwise utterly unremarkable town of Congonhas . Thankfully you don't have to stay there
to visit them - Congonhas is a convenient stopoff between Ouro Preto (or Belo Horizonte) and
São João del Rei (you may have to change buses in Ouro Branco): leave your baggage at the
Congonhas rodoviária , from where you'll need about four hours for local bus connections and to
make the most of the remarkable site.