Place:Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil


NameOuro Preto
Alt namesOuro Prêtosource: Getty Vocabulary Program
Vila Rica do Ouro Pretosource: Wikipedia
Coordinates20.417°S 43.5°W
Located inMinas Gerais, Brazil
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia



the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (meaning Black Gold) was originally called Vila Rica, or "rich village", the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil's golden age in the 18th century under Portuguese rule.

The city centre contains well-preserved Portuguese colonial architecture, with few signs of modern urban development. Any new constructions are required to be in keeping with the city's historical aesthetic. 18th- and 19th-century churches decorated with gold and the sculptured works of Aleijadinho make Ouro Preto a prime tourist destination.

The tremendous wealth from gold mining in the 18th century created a city which attracted the intelligentsia of Europe. Philosophy and art flourished, and evidence of a baroque revival called the "Barroco Mineiro" is illustrated in architecture as well as by sculptors such as Aleijadinho, painters such as Mestre Athayde, composers such as Lobo de Mesquita, and poets such as Tomás António Gonzaga. At that time, Vila Rica was the largest city in Brazil, with 100,000 inhabitants.



Ouro Preto was capital of Minas Gerais from 1720 until 1897, when the needs of government outgrew this town in the valley. The state government was moved to the new, planned city of Belo Horizonte.

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