Embu Attractions

Notable among modern works of art in Embu is the Cruzeiro da Paz on the Alto do Cruzeiro - an 18m/60ft high cross with 14 panels by different artists depicting scenes from Christ's Passion and local legends about this old Jesuit settlement. The colonial-style chapel of São Lazaro (1932) also contains sculpture by local sculptors. The finest of the town's colonial buildings is the 17th century church (restored 1940) of Nossa Senhora do Rosário do Embu on Largo dos Jesuitas, whose plain exterior contrasts with the sumptuous talha carving of the interior. The church is thought to have been built before 1640, since a double eagle, a symbol of the Spanish monarchs, appears in the carving on the side altars. The monastery adjoining the church preserves frescoes painted with ox-blood.

Embu has two museums, the Museum of Religious Art (Museu de Arte Religiosa) and the Historical, Folk and Art Museum (Museu Histórico, Folclórico e Artístico do Embu). The Museum of Religious Art, housed in the church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, has a number of small statues carved by Indians living in the Jesuit settlement. The Historical, Folk and Art Museum has a collection of material on local customs and traditions, including the "catechetic" dances (the catira, the batepé, the chimarrete, etc.) which the Jesuits used as a means of converting the Indians. These dances are still performed during the Festa da Santa Cruz (Feast of the Holy Cross) in May.