Salvador - Pelourinho

The Pelourinho quarter to the north of the Terreiro de Jesus, which has now been largely renovated and has become a favorite resort of both local people and visitors, occupies much of the historic old town. As the finest ensemble of 17th and 18th century colonial buildings in Latin America it was declared by UNESCO a world cultural monument. In Rua Gregório de Matos are the City Museum (Museu da Cidade), with life-size Candomblé figures, and the Abelardo Rodrigues Museum (sacred art and folk art), housed in the Solar do Ferrão of 1701. The Portas do Carmo Museum (weapons and flags of the period of the Dutch invasion) is in the Prédio do Senac, between the Solar do Ferrão and the 18th century church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos (Our Lady of the Rosary of the Blacks), which was built by black slaves. The Prédio do Senac is a regular school of gastronomy in which visitors can sample typical Bahian dishes and in the evenings can frequently watch performances of dances and other folk events. Also in the Pelourinho quarter are the Jorge Amado Foundation, the Casa de Benin (representing the culture of the old kingdom of Benin in what is now southern Nigeria, from which most of the slaves were shipped to Bahia) and the headquarters of the Bloco Afro Olodum (a carnival club) and the afoxé Filhos de Gandhi ("Children of Gandhi").