Porto Seguro - History

History

On April 21, 1500, the navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral sighted land after leaving the coast of Africa a month earlier. The place was sighted Monte Pascoal, 62 km south of Porto Seguro. The next day, the Portuguese landed on the mainland for the first time in the current Brazilian territory, a place whose exact point is still debated by historians. On April 24, the expedition anchored in Porto Seguro. In 1530, when trade with the East India weakened, Portugal became interested in the new land discovered and came to take possession of it. Earth is that it should by the Treaty of Tordesillas . In colonial times, was called Porto Seguro Nhoesembé.

Visit the historic site of the Upper City of Porto Seguro is almost a must for the thousands of tourists who arrive in Porto Seguro - City National Monument established by Presidential decree in 1973. One of the first housing units in Brazil, Porto Seguro, and bear the Mark of the Discovery, played an important role in the early years of colonization. This time are historic buildings that can be visited during the day or appreciated at night, when under the influence of special lighting. The historical tour can start by Marco 's discovery, where it opens one of the most beautiful landscapes of the coast of Porto Seguro. The milestone came in Portugal between 1503 and 1526 and symbolizes the power of the Portuguese crown, used to demarcate their land. All in-stone, is carved on one side of the Cross Order of Avis, and the other the coat of arms of Portugal.

In the same area, is the church of Nossa Senhora da Pena, built in 1535 by the donee of the captaincy, Pero do Campo Tourinho . There are kept sacred images of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including that of St. Francis of Assisi - first image brought to Brazil - and Nossa Senhora da Pena, patroness of the city, celebrated on September 8. To get a better idea of how the captaincy was Tourinho century and the arrival of the Jesuits, you can read some excerpts from letters written by Manuel da Nobrega or José de Anchieta, priests of the Society of Jesus on the region.

Further, the City Hall or Town Hall and Jail, dating from the eighteenth century, one of the most beautiful buildings of colonial Brazil . In this building, the works of the City Museum or Museum of Discovery. The church of Mercy, or of Our Lord, style simple, keep baroque images, highlighting the of Our Lord and Christ crucified. Even amidst the houses listed as a national monument, stands the church of St. Benedict, beside the ruins of the old residence and the Jesuit College. The church was built by the Jesuits in 1551 and was known as St. Peter and Our Lady of the Rosary. On the opposite side, even in the Upper Town, located the bus station and airport. He had his first fort erected in 1504 by Gonçalo Coelho and strengthened in the seventeenth century.