Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
marked with simple, flat tombstones. Most of the conspirators died in Africa, some in
Portugal; all but Tiradentes were exiled for the rest of their lives and never returned to
Brazil. There's a another small section dedicated to the Imperial period, while upstairs
the focus switches to religious art and antique furniture, though the highlight is the
room dedicated to
Aleijadinho
containing original letters, several statues and even a
chair designed by the master. The museum has English labelling throughout.
Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo
Rua Brigadeiro Musqueira • Tues-Sat 8.30am-11.30am & 1-5.10pm, Sun 10am-3pm • R$2 •
T
31 3551 2601 • No photos permitted
Just off Praça Tiradentes, the
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo
is one of the finest
churches in Ouro Preto. It was designed by Manoel Francisco Lisboa, Aleijadinho's father,
and construction began just before his death in 1766. Aleijadinho himself then took over
the building of the church and finished it six years later. He contributed the carving of
the exterior and worked on the ornate, gilt interior, on and off, for four decades. Two of
the Rococo side chapels in the main church (São João and Nossa Senhora da Piedade)
were among the last commissions he was able to complete, in 1809; the accounts book
for the time has Aleijadinho complaining he was paid with “false gold”. he 1776
baptismal font in the
sacristy
at the back is a masterpiece; this room also features a
wonderful painted ceiling and a painting of English king Edward IV.
2
Museu do Oratório
Adro de Igreja do Carmo 28 • Daily 9.30am-5.30pm • R$4 •
T
31 3551 5369,
W
museudooratorio.org.br
Just behind the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo is the
Museu do Oratório
, housed in
the artfully restored Casa do Noviciado (1753-66), which was once the meeting house
for the lay society attached to Nossa Senhora do Carmo - Aleijadinho is said to have lived
here while working on the church. On display is a high-quality collection of eighteenth-
and nineteenth-century oratorios (small Catholic altars or shrines, mainly to Mary) from
throughout Brazil, including a fine example by
Manuel da Costa Ataíde
(top floor).
Although there are some glittering shrines featuring gold and silver (and even sea
shells) on the top floor, the most touching examples are the portable and “bullet”
oratorios in the basement, carried by muleteers and other travellers to protect
themselves from danger. Don't miss the amazing “
trunk altar
” with its painted interior,
and the fascinating Afro-Brazilian oratorios on the ground floor, where African gods are
depicted to look like Catholic saints. An English-language guide is available.
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pilar
Praça Mons. Castilho Barbosa • Tues-Sun 9-10.45am & noon-4.45pm • R$8
Ouro Preto's oldest and most spectacular church is
Igreja
de Nossa Senhora do Pilar
, with
an ornate exterior even by Baroque standards. It was begun in 1711 and the interior is a
wild explosion of glinting Rococo, liberally plastered with gold. The best carving was
done by Francisco Xavier de Brito, who worked in Minas from 1741 until his early death
ten years later - and about whom nothing is known except that he was Portuguese and
influenced Aleijadinho. He was responsible for the astonishing
arch
over the wedding-
cake altar, where the angels supporting the Rococo pillars seem to swarm out of the wall
on either side. Look out for the paintings symbolizing the four seasons in the apse. The
small
sacristy
at the back (which contains an oratorio by Aleijadinho) and the old crypt
below the church form the
Museu de Art Sacra
(same hours), which contains all sorts of
religious bits and pieces - huge crosses, episcopal staffs, vestments and the like.
Casa dos Contos
Rua São José • Mon 2-6pm, Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-3pm • Free
The perfectly proportioned
Casa dos Contos
, a grand old Baroque mansion built in the
1780s by João Rodrigues de Macedo, now serves as an art gallery, museum and home
of the state archives. Macedo was one of the town's wealthiest men, but he was also
