Colourful houses
Colonial style.
The historic centre of Paracatu in north-western Minas Gerais grew out of the gold rush, when the discovery of gold gave birth to the mining settlement in the eighteenth century. It keeps a colonial architectural ensemble protected by the national heritage service, whose federal listing became definitive in 2017. Recent academic research on the centre's civil architecture between the late eighteenth century and 1822 shows the Portuguese influence on the town's layout, streets and houses, blended with the region's geography and local materials. Landmarks include the church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Homens Pretos, begun in 1744 by a brotherhood of Black believers, and the eighteenth-century main church of Santo Antônio, both federally listed. The centre suits a walk among colourful houses and cobbled streets, away from crowds, in a town less known than the gold towns of central Minas, taking in the churches from outside.
Colonial style.
Since 1744.
Quiet walk.
Central Paracatu, north-western Minas Gerais
Its federal listing became definitive in 2017.