SOUTHEAST BRAZIL - Brazil - page 122

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grand processions of clergy
in opulent vestments and
horses in velvet mantles
mounted by knights in
diamond-studded robes.
Nearly half a ton each of
gold and silver were used
to gild its 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.

One of the first gold towns in Minas Gerais
and a former state capital, Ouro Preto is
built on a series of hills. Steep, curving
streets lined with 18th-century residences,
many of which have now been converted
into restaurants, bars, and shops, link the
hills. Within the town, the streets lead to
pretty little squares dominated by Baroque
churches and stately town houses. These
include the churches of São Francisco de Assis and the
Nossa Senhora do Pilar, whose interiors bear the stamp
of some of Latin America's finest artists and craftsmen.

Carving by
Francisco
Xavier de Brito

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Igreja de São Francisco
de Assis
Largo de Coimbra. Tel [phone]
4661.

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.

8:30am-noon & 1:30-
4pm Tue-Sun.

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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 charac-
terized by gentle curves, from
the elegant S-shaped balus-
trades of its façade 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
(see p131) and his long-term
partner Manuel da Costa
Athayde (1762-1830). The
tablet on the church's façade

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Matriz de Nossa
Senhora do Pilar
Praça Mons Castilho Barbosa. Tel
[phone]. 9-10:45am &

noon-4:45pm Tue-Sun.

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7am
Mon-Fri, 7am & 7pm Sat & Sun,
7pm 1st Fri of the month.

5

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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

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Façade of Matriz de Nossa Senhora
da Conceição

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Matriz de Nossa Senhora
da Conceição
Praça Antônio Dias. Tel [phone]
4661. 8-11:45am & 1:30-

4:45pm Tue-Sat, noon-4:45pm
Sun.

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Built by Manuel Francisco
Lisboa, this church was
constructed between 1727
and 1770. It is most cele-
brated for its harmonious
proportions - the unity of
curves and straight lines on
the façade 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 heavily gilt
interior, and the sculptors of
the elaborate interior remain
largely unknown. Both Lisboa
and his son Aleijadinho are
buried in the church.
There is a small museum
devoted to the life and times
of Aleijadinho in the base-
ment of the church, con-
taining only very few of
his pieces.

Ceiling painting by Athayde in Igreja de São Francisco de Assis

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp372-3 and pp398-9