"Exploring Ouro Preto - A Baroque Gem" Top 5 Page for this destination Ouro Prêto Things to Do Tip by mircaskirca

Ouro Preto, the largest and most homogeneous portuguese colonial style settlement in the world, perches on hilltops at an altitude of 1179 m. It was the first brazilian town to be declared a world's heritage by UNESCO and it is remarkably well preserved.

Praca Tiradentes, with roads leading off it to most of Ouro Preto's sights, is the best place to start a tour of the town. Ouro Preto has several museums as well as thirteen colonial igrejas (churches) that are highly representative of mineiro baroque (and even rococo) architecture. The Minas style is marked by elaborately carved doorways and curving lines. Most distinctive are the interiors; richly painted and decorated with cedarwood and soapstone sculptures, covered with gold. These masterpieces are done by the best artists of those days: a sculptor and architect Antonio Francisco Lisboa, best-known as Aleijadinho, and a painter Manuel de Ataide. Especially Igrejade de Sao Francisco de Assis, Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Pilar, Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo and Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosario dos Pretos, built in the 18th century, show the artistry of that time.

The elegant colonial buildings are all over Ouro Preto. One of them is the oldest Teatro Municipal (the Municipal Theatre) in the country which was established in 1770 and it is still open today. To know the history of the town, it is good to visit museums housed in a building from the 18th century. One of them is Museu da Inconfidencia (the Museum of Betrayal) which used to be the old city hall and was later used as a prison.