The South - The Rough Guide to Brazil - page 606

Theatro São Pedro
Praça da Matriz • Tours by reservation only: Tues-Fri 1-7pm, Sat 4-9pm, Sun 4-6pm; Memorial do Theatro São Pedro: Tues-Fri 1-6pm,
Sat & Sun 4-6pm • Free • T 51 3227 5100, W teatrosaopedro.com.br
The simple but elegant Theatro São Pedro was inaugurated in 1858. Surprisingly, the
Neoclassical building and Portuguese Baroque-style interior have remained largely
unchanged, and the theatre is an important venue for local and visiting companies.
he Memorial do Theatro São Pedro in the basement chronicles the history of the site.
Next to the theatre is the Multipalco complex, an ambitious new project to expand the
city's theatre and art spaces.

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Solar dos Câmara
Rua Duque de Caxias 968 • Guided tours (1hr) Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, reservations required • Free • T 51 3210 1148,
E [e-mail]
The oldest residential mansion in the city, the elegant Solar dos Câmara was completed
in 1824 for José Feliciano Fernandes Pinheiro, the city customs inspector. The house
was later inhabited by the descendants of the well-connected Câmara family until
1975, and it was purchased by the State Legislative Assembly in 1981. Entrance to
the lavish interior is by guided tour only.

Museu Júlio de Castilhos
Rua Duque de Caxias 1205 & 1231 • Tues-Sat 10am-5pm • Free • T 51 3221 3959, W museujuliodecastilhos.rs.gov.br
he Museu Júlio de Castilhos is Porto Alegre's ramshackle history museum, occupying
a graceful old mansion once owned by respected journalist and politician Júlio de
Castilhos (1860-1903), twice the governor of Rio Grande do Sul in the 1890s. His
house (no. 1231), was built in 1887 - Castilhos lived here from 1898 to 1903. no. 1205
next door was built in 1916 and merged with the museum seventy years later. The
gallery exploring the link between the Azores and the city is poor, but the prehistoric
(“Indígena”) exhibit contains some rare Guaraní cultural artefacts and a 2000-year-old
mummified skull. Other galleries contain religious statuary, displays on the failed
Farroupilha Revolution (1835-45), still keenly remembered here, Castilhos himself and
the history of slavery in the state, but everything is labelled in Portuguese only.

Rua dos Andradas and around
The heart of the centro histórico , Rua dos Andradas (aka Rua da Praia), is pedestrianized
and cobbled for most of its length, and after a period of decline is once again the city's
main commercial thoroughfare, crammed with shoppers. Much of the western end is
taken up by historic (but still used) military buildings, with a couple of dusty military
museums.

Igreja Nossa Senhora das Dores
Rua dos Andradas 597 • Daily 8.30am-noon & 1.30-6.30pm • Free • T 51 3228 7376, W igrejadasdores.org.br
he Igreja Nossa Senhora das Dores at no. 597 is the oldest surviving church in Porto
Alegre (built from 1807 to 1904). Its grand twin-towered brilliant-white facade is far
more impressive than the interior.

Casa de Cultura Mário Quintana
Rua dos Andradas 736 • Mon 2-9pm, Tues-Fri 9am-9pm, Sat & Sun noon-9pm • Free • T 51 3221 7147, W ccmq.com.br
The most beguiling attraction on Andradas is the Casa de Cultura Mário Quintana , a
warren of art galleries, libraries and theatres beautifully restored in 2013. Designed in
Neoclassical style by the German architect Theo Wiederspahn and constructed between
1914 and 1929, the elegant rose-coloured building served as the Hotel Majestic until
1980 and as such was once a popular meeting point for local artists, intellectuals and
politicians, including presidents Vargas and Goulart. The seminal Brazilian poet Mário
Quintana , the poet of “simple things”, was a resident from 1968 to 1980 (hence the