Cities of Gold
Trip Start
Jan 20, 2004
1
108
167
Trip End
Ongoing
Ouro Prêto,
Brazil
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
When gold was discovered in the state of Minas Gerais in the late 17th century it resulted in a gold-rush of unprecedented proportions
01 Prophets and prophecies
. The deposits were the largest known at that time and by the middle of the 18th century the mines were turning out half the world's supply of gold. A few goldminers got rich, but of course most of the fabulous wealth found its way into the pockets of colonial officials and merchants, and the Portugese crown laid claim to 20% in a royal tax. The benefits to Brazil were minimal except for the development of Rio as the main port for export to Europe, and the establishment of a string of handsome colonial towns along the 'Estrada Real' - the cobblestoned gold route built by slaves from West Africa to transport the precious metal to the coast.After being so impressed with our visit to Tiradentes we decided to check out some of the other treasures left over from this golden era. Our first stop was Congonhas - a rather dirty, nondescript industrial town, whose current claim to fame is a large iron mining operation. We didn't stop there to admire the smelting complex, but rather to check out the talents of the 'Michaelangelo of Brazil': Antônio Francisco Lisboa, more fondly referred to as Aleijadinho. This patron of Brazilian arts was incredibly active during the latter half of the 18th century, despite the loss of the use of his hands and legs when he was thirty. With hammer and chisel strapped to his arms he crafted sculptures of incredible beauty and fine detail, and ushered in an era of more refined, graceful rococo art. We are ashamed to say that we had never heard of this internationally famous artist, but we were very quickly enthralled by his most famous work: the Prophets and six chapels at the Basilica in Congonhas. The sculptures are carved out of soapstone and have a vigorous, larger- than-life quality. The renditions of cherubs on the church facade are a typical Aleijadinho signature - with wavy hair and chubby cheeks.
We headed on through the rather hilly and remote interior of Minas Gerais, dotted with many unsightly but highly profitable mining operations - iron, manganese, tin, zinc and a variety of precious gems
02 Basilica do Bom Jesus de Matosinhos
. Our destination was the jewel in the crown, the town of Vila Rica de Ouro Prêto (Rich Town of Black Gold), one-time state capital and richest city in the New World. The wealth generated during the 18th century bought the services of the best artisans and artists of the time, and filled the town with magnificent baroque architecture - churches, chapels and extensive municipal buildings. As we started out on a rambling walking tour it seemed that we had again stepped back into another era. The town is promoted as being unspoilt by the intrusion of 20th century buildings, and we were indeed struck by the many imposing panoramic views across the terracotta tiled roofs to centuries old creations in all directions. Unfortunately the effect was spoiled on occasion by the prevalence of hydro wires and satellite dishes! The winding, narrow cobblestoned streets were impossibly steep (Birks were not an option here!) and we took advantage of having to frame frequent picturesque photo opportunities as an excuse for numerous rest breaks. Aleijadinho's talents were again very evident in the facades of several churches, always subtly attended by fresh-faced angels and cherubs.We finally managed to drag ourselves away from our medieval jaunt and back into the present day, and at the campsite that evening we had a decision to make. We could either continue deep into the interior on a 2,000 km round trip just to see the designer capital city of Brasília, or head back down to the coast to go whale watching and continue our steady progress northwards. Stay tuned!
