Congonhas - 83km/52mi south of Belo Horizonte in what was once a highly productive goldfield on the Rio Maranhão - has some of the great master works of Minas Baroque, including in particular the pilgrimage church of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos.
The church of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, listed by UNESCO as a world cultural monument, has two magnificent groups of sculpture by Antìnio Francisco Lisboa, known as Aleijadinho: the soapstone statues of the twelve prophets and the carved wood Stations of the Cross, some of which were coloured by Manuel da Costa Ataíde in 1818.
The life-size figures of the Stations of the Cross (1796-99) lead the visitor to the terrace with the prophets. They are contained in six chapels, in which the following scenes are depicted: the Last Supper, Christ on the Mount of Olives, the Arrest of Christ, the Mocking, the Crowning with Thorns, Calvary and the Crucifixion. Of particular interest is the Christ of the Crucifixion, one of the sublimest figures created by Aleijadinho.
26km/16mi east of Congonhas is Ouro Branco, with the church of Santo Antìnio, built between 1717 and 1779. The ceiling paintings in the nave are by Ataíde.
Read Less
Read More
Ouro Branco, Brazil
Read More
