Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
THE ROTA MISSÕES
With your own transport (or a lot of patience, taking local buses), you can visit all seven
missions in Brazil, though only São Miguel (see p.631) and the two others listed below - on the
route between São Miguel and São Borja (see p.632), near the Argentine border - are worth a
look. Little remains of the other four missions ( W rotamissoes.com.br): São Francisco de Borja
(1666), São Luiz Gonzaga (1687), São João Batista (1697) and Santo Ângelo Custódio (1706).
There are also more complete examples of missions in Argentina and Paraguay, also listed
below. For immigration issues concerning Argentina and Paraguay, see the Iguaçu Falls section
of this chapter (see p.567 & p.568).
BRAZIL
Sítio Arqueológico de São Lourenço Mártir
24km west of São Miguel, 9km south of BR-285 • Daily 8am-noon & 1.30-6pm • Free • T 55 3352 2699
Founded in 1690 by Padre Bernardo de la Vega, the population of São Lourenço Mártir topped
6400 in 1731. It's possible to see remnants of the church, cemetery and college.
Sítio Arqueológico de São Nicolau
113km northwest of São Miguel, RS-561 • Mon-Fri 8am-noon & 2-6pm, Sat & Sun 2-6pm • Free • T 55 3363 1441
Originally founded by Padre Roque Gonzales in 1626, but moved to the current location in
1687 - in 1731 the population was around 7700. Only the ceramic floors and foundations
remain, though you can also visit the original wine cellars and the Museu Municipal (same
hours) with displays on the excavation work that's taken place here.
ARGENTINA
San Ignacio Miní
60km north of Posadas, Argentina • Daily 7am-7pm • A$12 • W misionesturismo.com.ar
Of all the mission ruins, those of San Ignacio Miní are the largest in area and feature some of
the most interesting museum displays. Consecrated in 1609, the mission was moved to the
Río Yabebirí in 1632 due to constant attacks by slave-hunting bandeirantes . This site proved
unsuitable, and in 1695 the mission was moved a short distance to its present location.
Following the Jesuits' expulsion from South America, San Ignacio Miní was destroyed by
the Paraguayans in 1817 and only restored in the 1940s.
PARAGUAY
Santísima Trinidad del Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangué
28km northeast of Encarnación, Paraguay • Mon-Sat 7.30-11.30am & 1.30-5.30pm, Sun 1.30-5.30pm • PYG25,000 (US$5.50
at the time of research); includes entry to both ruins
Of the best-preserved Jesuit mission ruins, those of the Santísima Trinidad del Paraná and Jesús
de Tavarangué in Paraguay are the least visited. Founded in 1706, Trinidad was the last Jesuit
mission, but it grew quickly and by 1728 it had a Guaraní population of over three thousand. The
mission was designed by the Milanese architect Giovanni Baptista Prímoli, and the work wasn't
completed until 1760. Jesús was founded in 1685, just 12km up the road; here the Jesuits started
one of their biggest ever churches, which was still unfinished when they were expelled in 1768.
cattle the mainstays of economic activity, though spinning, weaving and metallurgical
cottage industries were also pursued.
In fact the region was virtually independent of both Spain and Portugal, a state of
affairs ended by the 1750 Treaty of Madrid when the missions became definitively
Portuguese; this led to the Guarani War of 1756, devastating the region (and dramatized
in the 1986 film he Mission ). The missions themselves were dissolved, either razed to
the ground or abandoned to nature, surviving only as ruins. Of the thirty former
Guaraní mission towns, sixteen were in present-day Argentina, seven in Paraguay and
seven were situated in what is now Brazil.
Santo Ângelo
The city of SANTO ÂNGELO , set in a farming region inhabited predominantly by
people of German origin, is a good point from which to catch buses to the missions.
 
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