Ouro Preto. A City that Reveals the History of Brazil

The city of Ouro Preto located in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais was designated a national historical monument in 1933 under president Getúlio Vargas (1930–1945, 1951–1954) (the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage of Brazil was also created under Vargas in 1937), and it became part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1980. The territory of the future state was covered by forests and inhabited by Indian tribes. The Portuguese settled the area closer to the coast and discovered gold deposits in the late 17th century. Gold ore was covered in black iron oxide, hence the name of the future city — Oro Preto, which became home to the Portuguese, Indians who had lost their lands and black slaves who had been brought from Africa and worked in the mines. A unique national style evolved in Vila Rica de Oro Preto, the capital of the Portuguese captaincy, as majestic temples and administrative buildings that were built combined the Baroque and Rococo styles. A prominent Brazilian architect and sculptor Aleijadinho worked in Oro Preto. The city’s wealth fostered a sense of national identity. In 1789, a group of rebels led by Tiradentes began to operate in Oro Preto only to be exposed and executed by Brazilian authorities. Among the plot leaders was the famous poet Tomás António Gonzaga (1744–1810), whose poem from the book «Marília de Dirceu» (1792) was translated into Russian by Alexander Pushkin. Grigori Langsdorf (1774–1852), the first Russian ambassador to Brazil (nominated consul general in Rio de Janeiro in 1812), a naturalist and ethnographer, admired the views of Oro Preto. The city of Oro Preto is a story about Brazil’s history and culture.