São João del Rei in Brazil

São João del Rei lies at the foot of the Serra do Lenheiro, astride what once must have been a winding little stream. This has now sadly been transformed into a concrete gutter with grass verges. Eighteenth-century bridges cross the stream leading to streets lined with colonial buildings and plazas with crumbling churches, the most interesting and best preserved of which is the church of São Francisco. The town feels far less of a tourist museum piece than nearby Tiradentes. There is a lively music scene here, with two renowned orchestras and an annual arts festival in July, and the bars are filled with locals rather than tourists waiting for their coach. There is a good view of the town and surroundings from Alto da Boa Vista, where there is a Senhor dos Montes (Statue of Christ).

São João del Rei is famous as the home of Tiradentes and of Tancredo Neves. The former was born in the

Fazenda de Pombal

, about 15 km downstream from Tiradentes on the Rio das Mortes. After his execution, the

fazenda

was confiscated. It is now an experimental station owned by

Ibama

. Tancredo Neves, to whom there is a memorial in the town, was the man who would have become the first civilian president of Brazil after the military dictatorships of the mid-20th century, had he not mysteriously died before taking office.

Ins and outs

The

rodoviária

, 2 km west of the centre, has a telephone office, toilets, luggage store,

lanchonetes

and a tourist office. São João is a good base for visiting Tiradentes (or vice versa); less than 30 minutes away by bus or an hour away at weekends via one of Brazil's most memorable steam train rides.

Many streets and squares seem to have more than one name, which can be a little confusing, but as the town centre is not large, it is hard to get lost. One such street crosses the Ponte da Cadeia from Rua Passos; it has three names: Rua da Intendência, Manoel Anselmo and Artur Bernardes. The

Secretaria de Turismo

, provides a free map.

Sights

The Córrego do Lenheiro, a stream with steep grassy banks, runs through the centre of town. Across it are two fine, stone bridges,

A Ponte da Cadeia

(1798) and

A Ponte do Rosário

(1800), as well as several other modern bridges. Both sides of the river have colonial monuments, which are interspersed with modern buildings. On the north side are many streets with pleasant houses, but in various states of repair.

Rua Santo Antônio

has many single-storey eclectic houses from the imperial period, which have been restored and painted.

Rua Santo Elias

has several buildings all in the same style. Behind the church of Nossa Senhora do Pilar , the

Largo da Câmara

leads up to

Mercês church

, which has quite a good view. Throughout the city you will see locked portals with colonial porticos. These are

passinhos

, shrines that are opened in Holy Week. They can be seen on

Largo da Cruz

and

Largo do Rosário

São Francisco de Assis

, built 1774, is one of the most beautiful churches in Brazil. Although often attributed to Aleijadinho, it was designed and decorated by two almost completely undocumented artists, Francisco de Lima Cerqueira and Aniceto de Souza Lopes (who also sculpted the Pelourinho in the Largo da Câmara). The magnificent but modest whitewash and stone façade sits between two cylindrical bell towers and is decorated with an ornately carved door frame and a superb medal of St Francis receiving illumination. The

praça

in front is shaped like a lyre and, in the late afternoon, the royal palms cast shadows that interconnect to form the lyre's strings. The six carved altars inside have been restored, revealing fine carving in sucupira wood. Their artistry is wonderful and the three pairs of altars mirror each other, each pair in a different style (note the use of pillars and the different paintings that accompany each altar). The overall shape of the nave is elliptical, the gold altar has spiralling columns and an adoring St Francis kneels atop.

The cathedral,

Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Pilar

, was built in 1721, but has a 19th-century façade which replaced the 18th-century original. It has rich altars and a brightly painted ceiling (Madonna and Child in the middle, saints and bishops lining the sides). Note the androgynous gold heads and torsos within the eight columns set into the walls either side of the main altar. There is a profusion of cherubs and plants in the carving. This abundance and angelic innocence contrasts with the suffering of the Passion and the betrayal of the Last Supper (two pictures of which are before the altar), all common themes in Brazilian baroque. In the sacristy are portraits of the Evangelists.

The

Memorial Tancredo Neves

, is a homage to the man and his life. A short video on São João del Rei is shown. It also holds exhibitions and has a bookshop.

The

Museu Ferroviário

(

Railway Museum

)

, is well worth exploring. The museum traces the history of railways in general and in Brazil in brief. There is an informative display of the role of Irineu Evangelista de Souza, Barão de Mauá, who was a pioneer of both industry and the railways following his visit to England in 1840. The locomotive that ran on the first railway from Rio de Janeiro to the foot of the Serra do Mar was called 'A Baronesa' after his wife. The railway to São João, the Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas, was not a success, but it was instrumental in the development of the region. In the museum is an 1880 Baldwin 4-4-0 locomotive from Philadelphia (No 5055) and a 1912-1913 VIP carriage, both still used on the steam journey to Tiradentes. Outside, at the end of the platforms are carriages and a small Orenstein and Koppel (Berlin) engine. You can walk along the tracks to the round house, where there are several working engines in superb condition, an engine shed and a steam-operated machine shop, still working. It is here that the engines get up steam before going to couple with the coaches for the run to Tiradentes. On days when the trains are running, you can get a good, close-up view of operations even if not taking the trip. Highly recommended.

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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