Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Brandão family, and is known as the Casa Aquiles Ribeiro. Walk here from Praça
Matriz along Rua José do Prado Franco and you'll pass the ornate
Igreja Presbiteriana
,
completed in 1899. The Protestant congregation was founded here, controversially, in
1884 by American pastor and missionary Alexander Latimer Blackford (1829-90).
Praça Josino Meneses
At the western end of the old town, Praça Josino Meneses is a once richly adorned
plaza now virtually abandoned to the elements. Romantic ruins of an old hospital,
theatre and police station line the fringes, while the centre is dominated by the elegant
but crumbling tiled façade of the
Nossa Senhora da Conceição dos Pardos
. Built
between 1834 and 1860, the church is finally being restored. Don't miss the
Ponte
Nova
, the footbridge over the Rio Cotinguiba here; despite its name, the cobblestone
beauty was completed in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Casa do Artesanato and around
Av Rotary • Mon-Fri 8am-10pm, Sat 8am-1pm, Sun 2-5pm • Free
he
Casa do Artesanato
opened in this new building in 2011 opposite the bus station,
given over to
artesanato
and relics of plantation life, though the quality is not especially
good. The large grey building next door is the
Trapiche
, a nineteenth-century
warehouse, now a performance space (Centro do Tradição). Further along is the
nineteenth-century
Mercado Municipal
, which tends to run only on Saturdays.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
LARANJEIRAS
4
By bus
Coopertalse (
W
coopertalse.com.br) and São
Pedro run minibuses to Laranjeiras (every 20-30min;
30min; R$2.30) from Aracaju's Terminal Velha (see p.252).
These terminate at the tiny bus station in the old town, one
block from the main plaza (you should be able to see the
church spires).
Tourist information
Keep walking down the main
road (Av Rotary) from the bus station and you'll see the
Bureaux de Informações Turísticas (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm;
T
79 3281 1805) a couple of blocks down on the right,
housed in the old Padaria Barroso (bakery); no one is
likely to speak English, but you can grab a useful map
here. Inside is also the small Galeria de Artes Horácio
Hora, showcasing local artists.
São Cristóvão
Founded in 1590 and Sergipe's state capital until 1855,
SÃO
CRISTÓVÃO
has a
wonderfully preserved
centro histórico
, perched high above the modern, commercial
part of town some 23km south of Aracaju, on the estuary of the Rio Vaza-Barris.
Packed into the small area around
Praça São Francisco
is the full panoply of a colonial
administrative centre, including an old governor's palace, a parliament building and
half a dozen period churches.
Museu de Arte Sacra
Praça São Francisco • Tues-Sun 10am-4pm • R$5 •
T
79 3261 1580
Dominating the beautifully maintained but rather bare Praça São Francisco is the
seventeenth-century Igreja e Convento de São Francisco, now home to the
Museu de
Arte Sacra
. Around 500 pieces of religious art are displayed inside and you can also
peek at the interior of the church, decorated with paintings.
Santa Casa de Misericórdia da São Cristóvão
Praça São Francisco • Daily 10am-12.30pm & 2-5pm • Free
This historic hospital foundation dates back to the early seventeenth century and is
operated by the Ordem Imaculada Conceição (a Catholic order) as a home for old
nuns. You can view its humble, timber-roofed chapel or “Antiga Igreja” (with a canvas
panel by José Teófilo de Jesus behind the altar), the sacristy with ornate, carved stone
font (
lavabo
) and small garden grotto.
