So Baroque!

This weekend Alissa, Anthony, and I took a short but nice trip to Ouro Preto. Ouro Preto, or "Black Gold," earned its name from tarnished gold nuggets mined in the surrounding areas. The town became wealthy due to its mining and is a colonial town that is covered in Baroque architecture with beautiful churches and museums. Travels were somewhat long since we had to go from Juiz de Fora to Lafaiete to Ouro Preto. Once we arrived there we realized that everything was within walking distance. We ended spending two nights in Ouro Preto at a very nice hostel called "La em Casa". Our hostel was located at the very center of the city in Praca Tiradentes. Speaking of Tiradentes, Ouro Preto was the base of the Inconfidencia rebellion led by Tiradentes against the Portuguese colonists. That's pretty neat!

For the first day we were there we managed to cover a lot of ground. We went to the Museu da Incofidencia, which featured relics related to the Inconfidents and different pieces of history and art. After that we headed to the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, which has various pieces by a famous sculptor named Aleijandinho. Close to this church was the local theater which they claimed to be the oldest functioning theater in all of the Americas. We then trekked over to the Igreja de Sao Francisco de Assis, which is one of Latin Americ's most important Rococo buildings. This church also featured work from Alejandinho and a famous painter that went by the name of Mestre Athayde. Thankfully with the ticket to enter this church we also got a ticket to the Museu de Alejandinho that is located in the church Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Conceicao, which was also gorgeous. With that our first day was at an end and we decided to get some R and R.

For our second day we  still had plenty of ground to cover in Ouro Preto. We got acquainted with other parts of the city and bought groceries to cook dinner that night. Simply walking around the town was a site seeing experience. We then visited a couple more churches that were impressive, but might have been overshadowed by the churches we had witnessed the day before. We visited yet another museum, Casa dos Contos, which was once the gold exchange but is now a museum dedicated to money and finance. We also took a walk through a nice park that goes right through the town next to a stream. Once we reached the end of the park, we were right next to the Matriz de Nossa Senhora de Pilar, a church which has the second most gold in Brazil. I unfortunately could not get a picture of this church. The only reason I have pictures of any of the other churches is because I went stealth mode and took a few shots when no one was looking. We then decided to call it a day and enjoy some good food and good company.

Finally we made an early departure back home on the third day. Ouro Preto did not fail to impress me one last time before leaving since it was covered entirely in a fog that looked beautiful with the architecture of the town.
 

Museu da Inconfidencia

Nossa Senhora do Carmo

Nossa Senhora do Carmo

Nossa Senhora do Carmo

Ouro Preto

Sao Francisco de Assis

Sao Francisco de Assis

Sao Francisco de Assis

Sao Francisco de Assis

 Ouro Preto

Ouro Preto