Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
carvings in the sacristy and a font. The interior is dominated by a massive German
Schnitger
organ
dating from 1701 and donated by the king of Portugal in 1753. Look
closely and you can see Chinese-style decorations carved by slaves, who also worked the
bellows. You can hear the organ in action, in twice-weekly recitals.
Museu Arquidiocesano de Arte Sacra
Rua Frei Durão 49 • Tues-Fri 8.30am-noon & 1.30-5pm, Sat & Sun 9am-3pm • R$5 •
T
31 3557 2581
Although it has been overshadowed by Ouro Preto for over two centuries, you can still
get a good idea of Mariana's early flourishing at the
Museu Arquidiocesano de Arte
Sacra
inside the old bishop's palace, the Casa Capitular. The Rococo
building
itself is
magnificent, with parts dating from the first decade of the eighteenth century, when it
began life, bizarrely, as a prison for erring churchmen, some of whom were notorious
for being the worst cut-throats of the
paulista
expeditions. Between 1720 and 1756 the
building was extended and became the bishop's palace; the door and window frames
are massive, built in beautifully worked local soapstone.
Inside, the
collection
of
arte sacra
and colonial furniture is distinguished by its
quality and age. The stairwell is dominated by a powerful painting of
Christ's Passion
by Mariana native
Manuel da Costa Ataíde
- his best-known work. The stairs lead up
to a number of graceful colonial rooms, including the luxurious private quarters of the
bishops, which contain the largest number of
Aleijadinho
figures anywhere outside
a church. The colonial furniture section, usually the dullest part of Minas museums,
is actually worth seeing here: lovely writing desks and chests of drawers, all early
eighteenth century and most made of jacaranda wood. The most unusual exhibit is
a false bookcase, with wooden “books” painted to resemble leather.
2
Praça Gomes Freire
By far the prettiest part of Mariana, languid
Praça Gomes Freire
contains a bandstand,
trees and pond, lined on all sides by colonial
sobrados
(two-storey mansions). In the
northwest corner (on the Travessa São Francisco) lies the
Chafariz São Francisco
, an
ornamental fountain dating from 1801.
Praça Minas Gerais
The two churches on Praça Minas Gerais, around the corner from Praça Gomes Freire,
with their ornate facades and comparatively restrained interiors, are typical of the third
phase of
barroco mineiro
. However, the combination of the two churches with the equally
graceful eighteenth-century
Casa da Câmara e Cadeia
(city hall and jail) makes the bare
grass square here an extremely photogenic spot. Note the
pelourinho
in the centre, a 1970s
ornamental version of what surely would have been a far more grimy whipping-post (to
which slaves and miscreants were tied and beaten) - the original was destroyed in 1871.
Igreja de São Francisco de Assis
Praça Minas Gerais • Tues-Sun 9am-noon & 1-4pm • R$2
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Igreja de São Francisco de Assis
, finished in 1794, has the finest paintings of any
Mariana church, as befits Manuel da Costa Ataíde's burial place. The numbers on the
church floor are where members of the lay Franciscan brotherhood are buried; Ataíde is
number 94. Inside you'll see a fine sacristy as well as an altar and pews by Aleijadinho,
who, in addition, put his signature on the church in his usual way, by sculpting the
sumptuous soapstone “medal” over the door.
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo and around
Praça Minas Gerais • Tues-Sun 9-11.45am & 2-5pm • R$2
he
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo
, completed in 1814, is disappointing in
comparison to the neighbouring São Francisco church, with a less elaborate exterior -
it was almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1999.
