Historic Town of Ouro Preto

Ouro Preto is probably the place of Brazil that I would most love to visit, much because of the concentration of baroque churches in this city.

Panoramic view of Ouro Preto

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 Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil’s golden age in the 18th century. With the exhaustion of the gold mines in the 19th century, the city’s influence declined but many churches, bridges and fountains remain as a testimony to its past prosperity and the exceptional talent of the Baroque sculptor Aleijadinho. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/124

Houses

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Ouro Preto, in the state of Minas Gerais, is one of Brazil's best-preserved colonial towns and a UNESCO world heritage site. Among other historical and colonial cities of Minas Gerais (Tiradentes, São João del Rei, Mariana and Diamantina), Ouro Preto is one of the most popular travelling destinations in Brazil. - in: http://wikitravel.org/en/Ouro_Preto

Churches of Nossa Sra. da Conceição, São Francisco de Assis and Nossa Sra. do Rosário

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Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Immaculate Conception): This 1727 church is famous for its 8 lavishly decorated altars. The cemetery here has the grave of Aleijadinho, and the sacristy houses a museum dedicated to him.

Church of São Francisco de Assis (Saint Francis of Assisi): This unique rococo-style church, built in 1776, is arguably Aleijadinho's greatest work.

Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário: Built in 1785 with slave labor. Slaves were forbidden to worship at any other church. The church has a unique shape, with a contour formed by three convergent ovals. - in: http://wikitravel.org/en/Ouro_Preto

Church of Saint Francis of Assisi

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The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a Rococo Catholic church in Ouro Preto, Brazil.

Its erection began in 1766 after a design by the Brazilian architect and sculptor Antônio Francisco Lisboa, otherwise known as Aleijadinho. Lisboa designed both the structure of the church and the carved decorations on the interior, which were only finished towards the end of the 19th century. The circular bell towers and the oculus closed by a relief were original features in religious architecture of that time in Brazil. The façade has a single entrance door under a soapstone frontispiece under a relief depicting Saint Francis receiving the stigmata. The interior is richly decorated with golden woodwork, statues and paintings, and the wooden ceiling displays a painting by Manuel da Costa Ataíde. - in: wikipedia