Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Museu Histórico de Sergipe
Praça São Francisco 26 • Tues-Sun 10am-4pm • R$5 •
T
79 3261 1435
The Antigo Palácio Provincial - the old provincial governor's house - now serves as
the regional history museum,
Museu Histórico de Sergipe
. The building remained in
use from 1855 to 1960, and today contains period furniture, art exhibits, displays
on the
cangaço
(rural bandits) such as Lampião, and the locally renowned painting
by Romantic artist Horácio Hora of Ceci e Peri, characters in José de Alencar's still
popular novel
O Guarani
(1857).
Praça Getúlio Vargas
A short walk along Rua Ivo Prados from Praça São Francisco lies its overgrown,
elegant sibling,
Praça Getúlio Vargas
, ringed by some pristine examples of colonial
townhouses with
balcão corrido
(balcony). The main church here - and the primary
church in town - is
Igreja Matriz Nossa Senhora do Vitória
, with roots in the early
seventeenth century, but destroyed by the Dutch in the 1640s and rebuilt in the
eighteenth century.
Igreja e Convento de Nossa Senhora do Carmo
Praça Senhor Dos Passos • Tues-Sun 10am-4pm, Sun 9am-1pm • Free
The small, usually deserted Praça Senhor Dos Passos contains the impressive bulk of
Igreja e Convento de Nossa Senhora do Carmo
, completed between 1745 and 1766, as
well as the smaller
Igreja da Ordem Terceira
to the left (the buildings are connected by
a cloister). The latter church is better known as the Igreja de Nosso Senhor dos Passos,
and is actually more enticing architecturally, with ornate chapels, altars and the small
Museu dos Ex-Votos
inside, festooned with the photos and objects (mostly wooden
arms and legs) left by devotees. The “
Blessed
Irmã Dulce
”, the Salvador-born nun
dubbed the “good angel of Bahia”, lived in the convent between 1933 and 1934 - a
small exhibit honours her memory (beatified in 2011, she is on track to become the
first Catholic saint born in Brazil).
4
Igreja Nossa Senhora do Amparo
Largo do Amparo at Rua Messias Prado • Tues-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 9am-1pm • Free
Completing the line-up of major colonial relics in São Cristóvão is the mouldering
Baroque tower of
Igreja Nossa Senhora do Amparo
, completed in the eighteenth
century and one of the tallest structures in the town. The interior is spacious but
adorned in a relatively simple Baroque style.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
SÃO CRISTÓVÃO
By bus
Minibuses run to São Cristóvão (hourly; 40min;
R$2.35) from Aracaju's Terminal Velha (see p.252); these
usually drop you off on the hill just below Praça São
Francisco. Walk back down the hill (across the old train
tracks) to the tiny bus station to catch one back.
Tourist information
The small information centre on
Praça São Francisco (Mon-Fri 10am-4pm, Sat & Sun
10am-1pm) is staffed by enthusiastic volunteers, but
English is rarely spoken - at the time of writing the town
had no maps either, but this should change. Next door
(same hours) is the Casa do Folclore, a gallery dedicated
to local festivals and various town characters, big puppets
and some drawings by Nivaldo Oliveira (Portuguese
labels only).
EATING
Eating in São Cristóvão usually means perusing the snack stalls and cheap
lanchonetes
near the bus station in the
commercial part of town. The town is noted for its cakes:
queijada
(a bit like cheesecake, made with coconut); and
bricelets
(loosely based on the thin Swiss wa
e cookie, with a mild orange flavour), usually sold in Santa Casa de
Misericórdia (see opposite).
Petisku's Bar e Restaurante
Praça Getulio Vargas
T
79 3261 2763.
Friendly little diner and bar on the main
plaza, knocking out home-cooked regional dishes and
serving cold beers.
Mon-Sat 10.30am-3pm.
