Gold Circuit

The historic cities of the time of gold exploration are among the biggest tourist attractions of Minas Gerais. With their churches, groups of houses and monuments still preserved, the municipalities of Ouro Preto, Congonhas do Campo, São João del Rei, Tiradentes and Diamantina make up the circuit of gold. In addition to their architecture, they also attract tourists to their festivals, the most famous being the sacred ones such as Holy Week in Ouro Preto and in São João del Rei, and the Carnival in Ouro Preto, São João del Rei and Diamantina.

A tour through the historical part of Minas Gerais may commence with São João del Rei, with its churches, bridges, museums, monuments and colonial residences, in addition to rich craftsmanship, with items like candelabra and tea services fashioned from tin. São João Del Rei is the birthplace and final resting place of Tancredo Neves, the president elected by the Electoral College for the transitional government between the military dictatorship and the redemocratization of the country. Tancredo did not live to take office: he fell ill and was operated upon on the eve of taking power. He died shortly afterwards, on 21st April, 1985, and his mandate was discharged by the Vice-President, José Sarney.

São João del Rei preserves a railway built by Dom Pedro II in 1881 which connects the town to nearby Tiradentes, an ecological haven with lakes and waterfalls in addition to monuments, museums and churches built in colonial times. In Diamantina, in addition to churches with magnificent interiors, such as Rosário and Carmo, one will also find the only remaining example of muxarabi, a closed porch typical of the region, in the house where Chica da Silva once lived.

Another of the towns on the circuit, Congonhas do Campo, is the site of the remarkable soapstone complex consisting of the twelve prophets and the Stages of Holy Week, masterpieces by Aleijadinho, registered by Unesco as a World Heritage Site.

Created in 1711, Ouro Preto was the first capital of the state of Minas Gerais and nowadays is the city that brings together one of the most homogeneous and complete collections of baroque art in the world. Its architecture faithfully reflects Brazil’s colonial past. Its churches include São Francisco de Assis, whose architectural and artistic splendour is the work of Aleijadinho, and the Mother Church of our Lady of the Pillar, one of the richest in the country with 434 kilos of pure gold and 400 kilos of silver in its ornaments. Also in Ouro Preto is the Opera House, dating from 1770, the oldest theatre in use in the Americas, and Casa dos Contos, architecturally remarkable and serving as a prison for Tiradentes and the other members of the Inconfidência Mineira.