Things to see and do Pernambuco

There is in fact not one but two parks dedicated to sculptures in Recife. The first one is located near the Recife shopping mall, where the consumer society finds a place to reflect. In a park of 19,000 square meters, one can admire the works of 39 Brazilian artists, such as Lula Cardoso Ayres, Corbiniano Lins or Evêncio and of course, the works of Francisco Brennand. The second space dedicated to sculpture is the one in the port of Recife, which can be reached by boat from the "marco Zero". All the works are by Brennand.

Francisco Brennand took over the family ceramic factory. Today, the site occupies 15,000 square meters and Brennand's wild creations are displayed in the large garden surrounding the main building. Inside, dozens of other sculptures, sketches, prints... Ony still produces ceramics industrially. To get there, a taxi is the best option. Determine the price of the trip (outward, waiting, return) before getting on board.

The mercado de São José gives the temperature of the popular Recife. Built by French architects, the iron market of the São José district is directly inspired by the Grenelle market. It was inaugurated in 1875 and today you can find more than 500 stalls selling a wide variety of products: handicrafts, medicinal herbs, cashew nuts, etc. It is always very pleasant to stroll around and get lost before going to the patio of São Pedro. Be careful, however, when the market closes, the neighborhood becomes empty and unsafe.

Only a few kilometres from the other great historical city of Pernambuco, Recife, the beautiful Olinda is itself covered with a white coat of churches. The wealth of temporal power often contributed to the wealth of temporal power, through the construction of those remarkable temples of faith that are the baroque churches and cathedrals. The cathedral of Olinda ("igreja da Sé", for "sede episcopal", or bishop's seat, ex-catedra) is a pearl of religious baroque. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife. The cathedral of Olinda - called Catedral de São Salvador do Mundo - which dominates the Alto do Sé square, was originally a simple chapel that was replaced in 1584 by a solid building with several secondary chapels, on the initiative of Antonio Barreiro, the third bishop of Brazil. Raised to the status of a cathedral in 1676, at the time of the creation of the diocese, and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the cathedral, sober and in typical Portuguese colonial style, is today an emblematic architectural element of Olinda's old centre. In addition to admiring some beautiful murals and altars decorated with gold leaf, you can enjoy a fantastic view of Olinda and Recife in the distance, surrounded by lush vegetation. The Sé church is also the Sé square, one of the city's postcards and perhaps one of the most famous views in the Nordeste and in Brazil as a whole.

The city of Recife has long been the great competitor of the other great city of the Nordeste: Salvador de Bahia. If the history of Brazil is relatively recent from that of the old world or South and East Asia, it is no less rich. Intense activity has animated the quays of the ports of these cities. The opulence of the religious buildings was often the expression of the material wealth of the societies. The Basilica and Monastery of São Bento represent an important Baroque architectural complex classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The foundation of the monastery dates back to the early days of Portuguese colonization: its first version was completed in 1599, before being destroyed by fire during the Dutch invasion in 1631. It was rebuilt and put back into use in 1656, and later enlarged, and the first stones of the church of São Bento (dedicated to St Benedict) were laid in 1660 (it was not completed until 1761). The sacristy of the latter is one of the most richly decorated in Olinda: furniture carved in cedar, crystal mirrors and painted panels lining the walls, a painted ceiling recounting the life of St Benedict (work of Eloy José da Conceição of 1785), an altarpiece framed in gold, and a panel depicting Our Lady of Sorrows. In 1998, the church of the Monastery of St. Benedict was elevated to the status of Basilica by Pope John Paul II.

Dona Lindu Park is an urban space designed by Oscar Niemeyer. This space is dedicated to the courageous women of the North East and to Lula's mother. It is easy to recognize the style of the great Carioca architect, with its pure and fluid curves. Built as part of a certain desire for urban renaissance in a city plagued by the evils of violence and crisis and inaugurated in 2011, this park, in addition to its green areas, bike paths, skatepark and playground, is composed of an art gallery and the Luiz Mendonça Theater.

The market was built at the end of the 17th century and restored according to the original plans. Handicrafts, wood carvers' workshops, engravings, paintings. After the fire that destroyed Marim dos Caetés in 1601, the city began to be rebuilt by the Rua de São Bento, with the Palace of the Governors, then came the House of the Chamber and the prison, which were one above the other, and in front of them the public market. The market is U-shaped and has typical characteristics of buildings from the colonial period,

Like many Brazilian metropolises, especially those in the Northeast, the city centers that were born during the colonial period or during the sugar cycle had become places of misery and violence, where only those who could not escape these places of exclusion remained. The more affluent classes had long since left the historic districts to move to the more open spaces of residential areas such as Casa Amarela or Boa Viagem with its Benidorm air. The municipality has worked on the Western process of reclaiming the centres. Old Recife is the starting point of the city and is at the heart of this reclamation process. The process of renovation is slow and the animation of the streets in the evening is in decline. You can see the port of Recife with a beautiful view of the sea and the Esculturas Francisco Brennand park. The Praça Rio Branco (better known as Marco Zero, "the zero marker") is decorated with the Rosa dos Ventos, by the Pernambuco painter Cicero Dias. There are also various cultural institutes, such as the Malakoff Cultural Observatory, located in the Tunisian-style tower of the same name, which houses an astronomical observatory. The Apolo Theatre, from the 19th century. Also a beautiful church, the Igreja da Madre de Deus, dating from the eighteenth century. In the Rua do Bom Jesus, which was called the street of the Jews in the 17th century, stands the Kahal Zur Israel synagogue. Also of interest is Fort Brum (1629), which houses a military museum.

In the heart of Santo Antônio, the Praça da Republica is one of the most beautiful squares in the city, founded on the gardens of Count Maurice de Nassau. It is formed by three gardens with numerous sculptures of classical deities. Around the fountain, lit at night, are imperial palms and a huge old baobab tree. Around the square, the Teatro Santa Isabel designed by the Frenchman Lousi-Léger Vautier, a high place of the cultural life of the city (19th century), the Palácio do Campo das Princesas (1841) and the Palácio da Justiça.

It is an area where you can admire houses and sobrados from the 19th century, when the area was popular with the population as a holiday resort. Its lands belonged to theengenho Casa Forte. There was only a small village with a few houses. Doctors began to advise the members of the richest families to go there, because the Capibaribe River that flowed there could have medicinal properties. The rich families of Recife started to build sobrados. The Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Saúde (1820) can also be seen here.

Situated in the heart of the ancient island of Antonio Vaz, it is one of the most important ensembles of Portuguese architecture. Here you can see the impressive cathedral of São Pedro dos Clerigos, built in baroque style and finished in 1792, which will enjoy the beautiful dodécagonale nave and the ceiling painted by the eye. The whole has recently been rehabilitated to make it a tourist and exit area and today is one of the most charming places in the historic centre: a small, picturesque colonial square with restaurants and cafés.

It was during the Dutch domination (1630-1654) that the Jewish-Portuguese communities came to settle, taking advantage of the great religious tolerance of the Batavians. This synagogue is the oldest synagogue in America, operating from 1641 to 1654. The building was archaeologically excavated and opened to the public in 2001. The floor and objects from the 17th century, such as the Mikvê, a small bathtub used in purification rituals, are on display.

The museu do barro is dedicated, as its name indicates, to terracotta pottery. The Nordeste is a land where this craft tradition is omnipresent. There is a lot of pottery on display, including about 70 original works by Mestre Vitalino, the most famous potter.

Alto da Moura: For those who are interested in the art of pottery, 6 km from Caruaru is the village of Alto do Moura, which is the real regional capital of this speciality, and where Mestre Vitalino comes from. The easiest way to get there is to take a taxi from Caruaru.

It covers almost 390 hectares and is one of the largest urban fragments of Atlantic forest in Pernambuco. Dois Irmãos State Park is considered one of the main centres of in situ nature conservation in the country. Its exuberant ecosystem is home to free-living plants and animals, such as sloths, marmosets, coatis, capybaras and several birds. It is a botanical and zoological garden and an environmental education centre. Guides accompany visitors on the trails (remember to make reservations).

The origins of the Basilica of Nossa Senhora da Penha date back to the time of the hereditary captaincies, when the Dutch Count Maurice de Nassau, then governor, welcomed the first French Capuchin missionaries to Recife in 1642. The church was rebuilt in 1870, in an eclectic style of Italian inspiration. Inside, there are paintings by the Pernambuco artist Murillo la Greca. As well as the Museu Dom Vital (open on Fridays from 6am to 6pm).

For those who take the road on one of the many bridges in the city linking the old Pernambuco to Olinda, it is difficult not to see this military building. Built by the Dutch in 1667, the fort was originally called Frederic Henry in honour of the Prince of Orange but, given its pentagonal structure, it was soon nicknamed Forte das Cinco Pontas (Fort of the Five Points), its current common name. It now houses the Museu da Cidade de Recife.

The museum was founded in 1979 by Gilberto Freyre as a result of the merger of three other museums: the Museum of Anthropology (1961-1978), the Museum of Popular Art (1955-1978) and the Sugar Museum (1963-1978). It is a reference in the whole region, especially for its research in the areas of anthropology, sugar culture and popular art. Origins, works, beliefs, habitat, habits and customs that reveal the cultural diversity of the Nordeste.

The museum has been housed since 1940 in the beautiful Palacete, a 19th century building in the Graças district, the former residence of Dr. Augusto Frederico de Oliveira, son of the Baron of Beberibe. It has an important and varied collection of pieces related to the history of the State from its creation in the 16th to the 19th century: war relics, furniture, jewels, coins, paintings, instruments, etc. Important collection of art from the colonial and Dutch periods.

This is the only beach in Recife that is worth a visit. Lined with imposing modern buildings, it extends over 7 km (with reefs a few hundred meters from the shore), the water is on average 26 ° C. Particularly frequented at weekends by a varied public but especially family. You can easily eat on the beach, accompanied as it should be by an água de coco or a cerveja gelada. Frequent shark attacks.

Other beaches of interest include:

Gaïbu, 30 km to the south.

Jatiuca and Pajuçara are nice beaches in the vicinity.

Beaches are not Olinda's strong point. There are, however, a few urban beaches, such as Plage do Farol and Plage de Casa Caiada, both of which are frequented by locals and tourists alike... Heading north, you'll find a succession of not-so-clean beaches framed by drab buildings: Rio Doce (6 km), Janga (8 km), Praia do Ó (12 km), Praia do Pau Amarelo (14 km), Praia da Conceição (17 km), Praia da Maria Farinha (23 km). Buses leave from Praça do Carmo and run every 30 minutes from 8am to 7pm. Beware of sharks.