SOUTHERN BRAZIL - Brazil - page 330

concentrating on Paraná's
archaeology, anthropology,
and history.
The city's commercial
center extends along Rua XV
de Novembro. Rua das Flores
is the pedestrianized section
lined with early 20th-century
pastel-colored shops. This
area's one truly distinctive
building is the magnificent
former city hall at Praça
José Borges, just across from
the flower market. Built in
1916, the French-style Art
Nouveau structure was
later used as the Museu
Paranaense until the opening
of the new site.
To celebrate the
contributions of European
immigrants to the city's
development, parks have
been built in their honor.
The best example of
these is the Bosque
Papa João Paulo II
Memorial Polonês ,
where log cabins built
in the 1880s by Polish
immigrants have been
re-erected. The buildings -
including a farmhouse,
chapel, and barns, are set
amid a small araucaria
preserve, pine trees that
originally dominated the
landscape. Bordering the
Bosque Papa João Paulo
II and representing
modern Curitiba is
the Museu Oscar
Niemeyer . Popularly
referred to as “The Eye” after
the construction's central
feature, the building is
considered one of Oscar
Niemeyer's greatest archi-
tectural achievements.
Y Bosque Papa João Paulo II
Memorial Polonês
Av Mateus Leme/ Rua Wellington
Oliveira Vianna (Centro Civico). Tel
[phone]. # 10:30-6pm
Mon, 9am-7:30pm Tue-Sun. 7
E Museu de Arte Sacra
Largo da Ordem s/n. Tel [phone]
3265. # 9am-noon & 1-6pm Tue-
Fri, 9am-2pm Sat & Sun. & 7 ^
E Museu Oscar Niemeyer
Rua Marechal Hermes 999 (Centro
Civico). Tel [phone].
# 10am-6pm Tue-Sun. & 7
E Museu Paranaense
Rua Kellers 289. Tel [phone]
3320. # 9:30am-5:30pm Tue-Fri,
11am-3pm Sat & Sun. & 7

Colorful shops and restaurants around Praça Garibaldi

Curitiba 1
Paraná . * 1,730,000. k
£ from Paranaguá. n Rua da
Glória 362, [phone].
www .viaje.curitiba.pr.gov.br

colonial style. Across the
square is the early 18th-
century Casa Romário
Martins, Curitiba's oldest
surviving house and now
a cultural center featuring
exhibitions on the his-
tory of the city.
Up the hill from here,
virtually adjoining the
Largo da Ordem are
Garibaldi and João
Cândido squares. The
squares are surrounded
by brightly painted
late 19th- and early
20th-century houses,
now used as art gal-
leries, antique shops,
and restaurants. The
grandest building,
however, is the Palácio
São Francisco, built in
1929 and later serving
as the state governor's
official residence. Renovated
and extended, the building
now houses the Museu
Paranaense , its displays

Founded in 1693 as a gold
mining encampment, Curitiba
developed to become the
largest city in Southern Brazil.
It emerged from being a
minor administrative, com-
mercial and agro-processing
center to grow into one of
Brazil's most dynamic cities.
Since the early 1990s, Curitiba
has rivalled São Paulo as a
location for corporate invest-
ment, in large measure
attracted by the city's quality
of life and public services,
which are an example to
the rest of the country.
The Largo da Ordem marks
the heart of Curitiba's oldest
quarter and features many
well-preserved historic
buildings. Dating from 1737,
the Igreja da Ordem is the
city's oldest church and the
finest example of Portuguese
ecclesiastical architecture
in the state. The plain, white-
washed, structure is decorated
inside with typically
Portuguese blue-and-white
tiles and Baroque altars.
Alongside the church is the
Museu de Arte Sacra with a
small but well-presented
collection of relics gathered
from churches in Curitiba. On
the same side of the square is
the Igreja do Rosário , orig-
inally serving Curitiba's slave
population. First built in 1737,
the church was completely
reconstructed in the 1930s but
retains its original Portuguese

Detail outside
Museu Paranaense

Façade of Igreja do Rosário on
Largo do Ordem

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp386-8 and pp410-12