Streets squares and districts to visit Recife

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.

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.