Beach-Blog-Brazil: Ouro Preto (August '11)

Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the focal point of the gold rush during Brazil's golden age under Portuguese rule. The outstanding Baroque architecture convinced UNESCO to designate it a World Heritage Site and we were keen to visit while we were in Minas Gerias.

Ouro Preto is built on a series of hills, linked by steep curving streets, making exploring on foot hard work...

...but worth the effort, because around each corner you find pretty little squares and fantastic Baroque churches.

Igreja de São Francisco de Assis, shown below, is one of Latin America's most important Rococo buildings. The church combines the finest work of Aleijadinho and Mestre Athayde, two of Brazil's greatest artists.

Another hill, and another famous church, this time Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Pilar.
Interesting fact about this church... nearly half a ton each of gold and silver was used to gild the inside of this church, and you really can tell. The inside of these churches are quite incredible, and are a vivid illustration of the wealth of the Ouro Preto mines in their time.

This tremendous wealth from gold mining in the 18th century created a city in which philosophy and art flourished. In 1789, Ouro Preto became the birthplace of the Inconfidência Mineira, a failed attempt to gain independence from Portugal. The leading figure, Tiradentes, was hanged as a threat to any future revolutionaries. In later days he became a national hero of course, and now every town in Brazil has a street or town square named after him...

The mining success also lead to the creation of the Escola de Minas in 1876. It is a leading Brazilian university of geology, where many of Rob's Brazilian colleagues studied. However they were not so keen on letting Jasmine & Rory in to play with the rocks...