Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Igreja São Matias
Praça Matriz
Dominating the languid main plaza, the
Igreja São Matias
is essentially just a ruined
facade, standing in the middle of the square like a ghostly outline of a church.
Construction began in the mid-1700s, but though it was used for services it was never
completed and the church was abandoned in 1884.
Museu Casa Histórica de Alcântara
Praça Matriz 7 • Tues-Fri 9am-3pm, Sat & Sun 9am-1pm • R$3 •
T
98 3337 1515
On the main plaza opposite Igreja São Matias, the
Museu Casa Histórica de Alcântara
evokes the life of the rich colonial planters with exhibits and period rooms containing
original furnishings (and slave quarters). Portuguese businessman José Maria Correia
de Souza built the house itself in the early nineteenth century, a gift for his daughter
Mariana and her husband, the noted politician Barão (baron) de São Bento. The views
from the second floor are spectacular.
Casa do Divino
Rua Grande 88 • Tues-Sun 9am-3pm • R$1
Rua Grande leads north from Praça Matriz, passing the
Casa do Divino
, a colonial
townhouse attractively adorned with
azulejos
(painted tiles). The exhibit inside is
dedicated to Alcântara's biggest festival, the
Festa do Divino Espírito Santo
, with displays
of objects, altars and instruments used during the celebrations. The festival takes place
in the weeks running up to the seventh Sunday after Easter (Pentecost Sunday, usually
in May), with exuberant parades that blend Portuguese Catholic and African traditions
- local sweets (
doces
) and liquors (
licores
) are dolled out for free at this time. During the
celebrations, the Casa do Divino serves as festival headquarters.
4
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo
Praça do Carmo (Rua Grande) • Daily 9am-1pm • R$2
At the end of Rua Grande lies the most beautiful church in Alcântara, the simple,
twin-towered
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo
, an all-white Baroque structure built
by the Carmelite Order around 1665. The church is one of the few in town to be
comprehensively restored and is still an active centre of worship, with a grand altar of
gilded carvings, Portuguese tiles, sculptures and side altars. The ruins surrounding the
church are all that remain of the
Carmelite convent
established here in the 1640s, and
abandoned in 1890.
Casa de Cultura Aeroespacial
Praça Nossa Senhora do Rosário 98 (off Rua Silva Maia) • Tues-Fri 9am-3pm, Sat & Sun 9am-1pm • R$3 •
T
98 3216 9263
This small and rather unorganized exhibit, for the moment at least, is the closest you
can get to Brazil's space programme, with models of all the rockets launched into
space from the nearby Brazilian Space Agency, including some full-size replicas in the
gardens outside.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
ALCÂNTARA
By ferry
The only way to reach Alcântara is by passenger
ferry from the Cais da Praia Grande terminal in São Luís
(see p.319). Day-trips are possible, with boats usually
departing 7-8am and returning 3-4pm.
Parque Nacional dos Lençóis
São Luís is the nearest major city to what is arguably one of the most beautiful
natural phenomena in Brazil, the wilderness of the
Parque Nacional dos Lençóis
, a
desert some 370km to the east covering around 300 square kilometres. What makes
it so special is that it is composed of hundreds of massive sand dunes that reach
