Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Theatro 7 de Abril
Rua XV de Novembro 560 (Praça Coronel Pedro Osório 160) • Mon-Fri 1-6.30pm • Free •
T
53 3225 5777
The elegant Theatro 7 de Abril was inaugurated in 1833, and as such stands as one of
the oldest formal buildings in the city (though the Art Deco facade you see today was
added in the 1930s). Inside, a small exhibit charts the history of the theatre.
9
Mercado Público
Praça Sete de Julho • Mon-Fri 7am-7pm, Sat 7am-1pm • Free
Adjoining Praça Coronel Pedro Osório, to the south, is the
Mercado Público
on Praça
Sete de Julho, a distinguished-looking building dating back to 1853 (re-worked in Art
Nouveau style in 1914), with a mix of stalls selling food and general goods.
Catedral da Igreja Episcopal do Redentor
Rua XV de Novembro 472 • Tues-Thurs 2.30-5.30pm, Sun 9.30am-11.30pm • Free •
T
53 3222 5679
As a railhead, port and important commercial centre, late nineteenth-century Pelotas
was home to considerable British and American communities. Bearing witness to this
is the
Catedral da Igreja Episcopal do Redentor
, a block from the Mercado Público.
Opened in 1892, the ivy-covered Neogothic church would go unnoticed in any
English town (it was raised to cathedral status in 1988), but in Brazil it looks
completely alien. In fact, in Rio Grande do Sul such churches have become a part
of the urban landscape, with some fifty others dotted around the state, although
hardly any of the members of their congregations are of British origin.
Catedral de São Francisco de Paula
Praça José Bonifácio 15 • Mon-Sat 10am-noon & 1.30-7.30pm, Sun 8am-noon & 6-8pm • Free •
T
53 3222 2096
Six blocks to the north of Praça Osório is the grand
Catedral de São Francisco de Paula
,
housing a revered image of its namesake saint (the patron of the city) brought from
what's now Sacramento in Uruguay. While its interior has undergone some alteration
over the years, the exterior, crowned with a majestic dome, has not been fundamentally
altered since it was begun in 1846.
Museu da Baronesa
Av Domingos de Almeida 1490 • Tues-Fri 1.30-6pm, Sat & Sun 2-6pm • R$2 •
T
53 3228 4606,
W
museudabaronesa.com.br •
Take a bus marked “Laranjal”
Scattered around the city are numerous mansions that once housed the
Pelotense
aristocracy. Many of these are in a state of disrepair, but a fine example survives in
the
Museu da Baronesa
in the suburb of Areal, about 1km northeast. The pink and
white-stuccoed building was built in 1863 as a wedding present for the son and
daughter-in-law of the Antunes Maciel banking family, its grandeur symbolic of the
wealth that was generated during the
charque
era. The museum includes a mix of
THE CHARQUEADA
The first
charqueada
(covered sheds where beef jerky is salted and dried) was established in
the Pelotas area in 1780, and by the late 1820s there were two-dozen producers of
charque
in
the city. Production was a brutal affair, relying almost wholly on slave labour, and when cattle
were being slaughtered the Canal de São Gonçalo was stained bright red from the blood and
waste. With the introduction of
refrigeration
in the late nineteenth century, demand for beef
increased, and with it Pelotas's importance as a port and commercial centre. However, by the
turn of the century, Rio Grande's port, able to take larger ships, had superseded it and the local
economy entered a long period of decline. Evidence still remains of the
charqueadas
, however,
with several ruins on the banks of the Arroio Pelotas as well as two fine houses built by
charqueadores
that are open to visitors (see p.626).
