The stone square
Iberian layout.
Ridiculopathy — CC0 · Ministério da Cultura — CC BY 2.0 · Paul R. Burley — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paul R. Burley — CC BY-SA 4.0
São Francisco Square in São Cristóvão, near Aracaju, is a historic stone-paved square 73 metres long and 51 wide, listed by UNESCO as World Heritage in 2010. What sets it apart is its layout: a Spanish colonial «plaza mayor» laid out under the laws of the Iberian Union, when one king ruled Spain and Portugal from 1580 to 1640, blending Spanish and Portuguese town planning in a way rare in Brazil. Colonial buildings frame it: the Church and Convent of Santa Cruz (São Francisco Church) in the north-eastern Franciscan style, the Misericórdia hospital and church, and the Provincial Palace, now home to the Historical Museum of Sergipe, the state's oldest museum, which reopened after a three-year restoration. The square is open and free. Museums and churches usually open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00-16:00, with shorter hours on Sunday.
Iberian layout.
In the Provincial Palace.
All around.
Upper town, São Cristóvão, Sergipe
For its rare layout blending Spanish and Portuguese models, set out during the Iberian Union of 1580-1640.