The Royal Way
in Brasil

Suzanna Cruz Sampaio / Brazil

The Royal Road in Brazil, shaped through centuries in the country’s vast hinterland, along its 1400 km from where the Bandeirantes, the first Paulista colonizers, set forth. On their paths and trails it is possible to reconstruct the cycle of the quest for gold and precious stones, the hardships of the pioneer colonial urban settlers and the suffering of thousands of African slaves who actually built the road.
The greatest Brazilian Baroque and Rococo Monuments, several of them in the Worlds Heritage List are located along this historical and cultural itinerary.
This paper intends to show to specialists, the actual situation of this unique Heritage and discuss ways to avoid the destruction of part of Ouro Preto, of the Aleijadinho masterpieces in Congonhas do Campo and the constant attempts to devastate the magnificent rain forest in the mountain range of Bocaina, the main site of the Old Golden Road. To draw the audience’s attention, we will present a photographic documentation of the problems described in this publication:
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Urban Meier       Tourist Guide  /  NordicWalking Instructor  /  Ski  Instructor