NORTHEAST BRAZIL - Brazil - page 186

Pretty lace hammocks displayed in the stalls outside the Mercado Modelo

Mercado Modelo 0
Praça Visconde de Cairu, Comércio,
Cidade Baixa. Tel [phone]
2893. # 9am-7pm Mon-Sat,
9am-2pm Sun.

silver crosses, candlesticks,
chalices, censors, and other
artifacts from the 16th
to 19th centuries.

typical of the 17th century - a
chapel, a big house with slave
quarters on the lower floor,
and a large mill where cane
was transformed into sugar.
During the sugar boom
of the 18th century, the
owners added a courtyard
fountain and a full-size
church, Nossa Senhora da
Coneição. After the sugar
trade collapsed in the 19th
century, the Solar was used
variously as a factory, a
warehouse, and naval
barracks. Finally, in the 1940s
it was designated a National
Historic Monument and
chosen as the site for the
Museu de Arte Moderna . A
series of renovations restored
the buildings to their former
glory, while upgrading the
facilities to include eight
exhibit rooms, a theater,
and a library.
The complex also houses
an excellent restaurant,
besides displaying paintings,
etchings, and sculptures by
some of Brazil's best-known
modern artists. In the
evenings, it hosts a presen-
tation of traditional Bahian
dance and folklore, held in
the former slave quarters.

The Mercado Modelo was
built in 1861 as a customs
building. The square behind
the market, now used by
capoeiristas (see p199) , was
where boats would dock to
unload their merchandise for
inspection. The building was
transformed into an indoor
craft market in 1971, and
renovated after a major
fire in 1984. Nowadays, the
Mercado's two floors house
259 stalls that offer a variety
of northeastern arts and crafts.
Popular items include naive
art paintings of Pelourinho,
berimbaus (a stringed instru-
ment), embroidered lace table-
cloths, hammocks, colorful
hats, spices, and sweets.

The Museu de Arte Sacra, housed
in a 17th-century convent

Solar do Unhão w
Av do Contorno s/n. Tel [phone]
6139. Museu de Arte Moderna
# 12:30-6pm Tue-Fri & Sun, 12:30-
9pm Sat. Tel [phone].

Museu de Arte
Sacra q
Rua do Sodré 276. Cidade Alta.
Tel [phone]. # 11:30am-
5:30pm Mon-Fri. &

A renovated colonial sugar
mill, the Solar do Unhão beau-
tifully blends the old and the
new. The original design is

One of Brazil's best
collections of religious art
can be found in this museum,
which is housed in a former
Carmelite convent. The serene
and beautiful structure was
built between 1667 and 1697,
and serves as the perfect
backdrop for the varied
exhibits, which include
statues, icons, paintings,
oratorios (portable altars),
and numerous finely-wrought

Exterior of the Solar do Unhão, once a colonial sugar mill

For hotels and restaurants in this region see p377 and pp402-403