Minas Gerais, Brazil · South America
Ouro Preto sits on the route: 20 minutes from Mariana, 39km from Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos.
Ouro Preto is in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with about 75,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Mariana, about 9 km away.
Ouro Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈo(w)ɾu ˈpɾetu], lit. 'Black Gold'), formerly Vila Rica (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvilɐ ˈʁikɐ], lit. 'Rich Town'), is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The city, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains, was designated a WorldRead more
Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its Baroque colonial architecture. Ouro Preto used to be the capital of Minas Gerais from 1720 until the foundation of Belo Horizonte in 1897.
The municipality became one of the most populous cities of Latin America, counting on about 40,000 people in 1730, and 80,000 in 1750. At that time, the population of New York was less than half of that number of inhabitants and the population of São Paulo did not surpass 8,000. Officially, 800 tons of gold were sent to Portugal in the eighteenth century, not to mention what was circulated in an illegal manner, nor what remained in the colony, such as gold used in the ornamentation of the churches.
Other historical cities in Minas Gerais are São João del-Rei, Diamantina, Mariana, Tiradentes, Congonhas and Sabará.
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Within an hour or so of Ouro Preto: Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos (39 km).
Ouro Preto is in Minas Gerais, Brazil, about 9 km from Mariana.
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1 notable place within an hour's drive.
cathedral
A hilltop sanctuary at Congonhas where Aleijadinho carved twelve soapstone prophets on the terrace, each with a distinct face and gesture, plus six chapels of painted cedar passion figures.
39 km · about 45 min drive
Year-round
Tropical latitude: plan around the wet season rather than temperature.
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