Mill buildings
19th century.
Wagjorge — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Helder Prado — CC BY-SA 4.0 · enioprado — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wagjorge — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wagjorge — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Helder Prado — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fragoni — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Engenho Central of Piracicaba is a historic sugar mill on the banks of the Piracicaba river, built in 1881 by the Baron of Rezende to replace slave labour with paid workers and machinery. Because its imported machines were hard to maintain, it was sold in 1899 to a French company and became the country's most important sugar mill, producing 100,000 sacks a year. It was enlarged in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, but the growth of the city around the Vila Rezende district hampered its work until it closed for good in 1974. The city kept the land it stood on, with 80,000 square metres of green space and 12,000 of buildings, and it was listed by the city in 1989 and by the state in 2014. Today it is a park and cultural centre with a theatre, exhibition halls and an events area, and every year it hosts the Piracicaba International Humour Salon. A pedestrian suspension bridge links it to the town centre, and across the river lies Rua do Porto, with restaurants looking onto the rapids.
19th century.
For walkers.
And Rua do Porto.
Piracicaba riverbank, Piracicaba, São Paulo state
It is a cultural centre with a theatre and halls, hosting the yearly Piracicaba International Humour Salon.
