Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo - The Rough Guide to Brazil - page 133

Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo
Separated from the Atlantic by the small state of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais
is best known for its gorgeous colonial-era towns, spa resorts created in the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and for Belo Horizonte, its
booming capital. The state's business and cultural heart, Belo Horizonte lies
in the centre of the rich mining and agricultural hinterland that has made the
state one of the economic powerhouses of Brazil, running from the coffee
estates of western Minas to the mines and cattle pastures of the Rio Doce
valley, in the east. Espírito Santo is best known for its beaches, though
several Italian and German towns add colour to its hilly inland regions.

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All mineiros would agree that the soul of the state lies in the rural areas, in the
colonial-era hill and mountain villages and the towns of its vast interior . Explorers
flocked to the region following the discovery of gold in 1693, and Minas Gerais'
cidades históricas , “the historic cities”, represent some of the finest examples of
Portuguese colonial architecture in the nation. They are repositories of a great flowering
of eighteenth-century Baroque religious art ; arte sacra mineira was the finest work of
its time in the Americas, and Minas Gerais can lay claim to indisputably the greatest
figure in Brazilian cultural history - the mulatto leper sculptor, Aleijadinho , whose
magnificent work is scattered throughout the state's wonderfully preserved historic
cities. The most important of the cidades históricas are Ouro Preto , Mariana and Sabará ,
all within easy striking distance of Belo Horizonte , the state's modern capital, and
Congonhas , São João del Rei , Tiradentes and Diamantina , further afield. In the
southwest of the state, in fine mountainous scenery near the border with São Paulo,
are a number of spa towns built around mineral-water springs, including the small
and quiet resorts of São Lourenço and Caxambu .
Espírito Santo is the kind of place you rarely hear about, even within Brazil. With the
exception of its coastal resorts, it's almost completely off the tourist map, though the
interior of the state has some claim to being one of the most beautiful parts of Brazil.
Espírito Santo's capital Vitória boasts a fine location (on an island surrounded by hills
and granite outcrops) and a smattering of historic sights, while nearby Vila Velha is a
major beach resort. The best way to view the interior is to make the round of the towns
that began as German and Italian colonies, the so-called Região dos Imigrantes : Santa
Teresa , Santa Leopoldina , Santa Maria and Domingos Martins - the last on the road to
the remarkable sheer granite face of Pedra Azul , one of the least-known but most
spectacular sights in the country.

Arts, antiques and street snacks in
Belo Horizonte p.143
Inhotim Instituto Cultural p.146
Futebol in Belo Horizonte p.147
Comida mineira p.149
Eating at the Mercado Central p.150
Feeding the red wolves p.152
Aleijadinho p.156
Festive Ouro Preto p.157
The Inconfidência Mineira p.159
Conceição closed p.161

Precious stones of Ouro Preto p.162
Smoking Mary p.171
Hiking Tiradentes p.173
Parque Nacional Serra do Cipó and the
Cachoeira do Tabuleiro p.176
Juscelino Kubitschek p.178
Pousada Rural Recanto do Vale p.180
Top trips from Diamantina p.181
Security in Vitória p.183
First Father: Padre Anchieta p.185
European echoes in Espírito Santo p.194