Sights in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Although dotted with green spaces like the

Parque Municipal

and a few handsome buildings such as the arts complex at the

Palácio das Artes

, central Belo Horizonte has few sights of interest beyond a handful of small museums. The

Museu Mineiro

, houses religious and other art in the old senate building, close to the centre. There is a section dedicated specifically to religious art, with six pictures attributed to Mestre Athayde , exhibitions of modern art, photographs and works by

naïf

painters. Also of interest are the woodcarvings by Geraldo Teles de Oliveira (GTO). The

Museu Histórico Abílio Barreto

is in an old

fazenda

which has existed since 1883, when Belo Horizonte was a village called Arraial do Curral d'el Rey. The

fazenda

now houses antique furniture and historical exhibits. To get there, take bus No 2902 from Avenida Afonso Pena.

Pampulha

The city's most interesting attraction by far is the suburb of Pampulha: a complex of Oscar Niemeyer buildings set around a lake in formal gardens landscaped by Roberto Burle Marx.

The project was commissioned by Juscelino Kubitschek in the 1940s, when he was governor of Minas Gerais and a decade before he became president. Some see it as a proto-

Brasília, for this was the first time that Niemeyer had designed a series of buildings that work together in geometric harmony. It was in Pampulha that he first experimented with the plasticity of concrete; the highlight of the complex is the

Igreja São Francisco de Assis

. This was one of Niemeyer's first departures from the orthodox rectilinear forms of modernism and one of the first buildings in the world to mould concrete, with its series of parabolic waves running together to form arches. Light pierces the interior through a series of louvres and the curves are offset by a simple free-standing bell tower. The outside walls are covered in

azulejo

tiles by Candido Portinari, Brazil's most respected modernist artist. These were painted in a different style from his previous social realism, as exemplified by pictures such as

O Mestiço

. The building provoked a great deal of outrage because of its modernist design. One mayor proposed its demolition and replacement by a copy of the church of Saint Francis in Ouro Preto.

There are a number of other interesting Niemeyer buildings on the other side of the lake from the church. With its snaking canopy leading up to the main dance hall, the

Casa do Baile

, is another example of his fascination with the curved line. There are wonderful views out over the lake. People would dance here and then take a boat to the glass and marble

Museu de Arte de Pampulha

(

MAP

www.comarte virtual.com.br, which was then a casino set up by Kubitschek. Today it houses a fine collection of Mineira modern art and more than 900 works by national artists.

Just 700 m south of the lake are the twin stadia of

Mineirão

and

Mineirinho

, clear precursors to the Centro de Convenções Ulysses Guimarães in Brasília, which was designed by Niemeyer's office though not the architect himself. Mineirão is the second largest stadium in Brazil after the Maracanã in Rio, seating 92,000 people.

This is edited copy from Footprint Handbooks. For comprehensive details (incl address, tel no, directions, opening times and prices) please refer to book or individual chapter PDF

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