Caraça College

"Last Supper"

Among the treasures of the College are books of the 15th-17th centuries, porcelain, liturgical vessels, vestments and works of art, including two paintings by Manuel da Costa Ataíde, a portrait of Friar Lourenço and his famous "Last Supper" (1818).

Church

The heyday of the college, the oldest-established school for the children of the large landowners of Minas Gerais, lasted from 1854 until 1968, when one of the wings was burned down and the college was closed. The college, now protected as a national monument, consisted of two wings and the church (1880), the first neo-Gothic church in Brazil, with twelve granite columns, twelve side altars of Minas marble and French stained glass windows. Under the buildings are catacombs containing the tombs of the monks. Now, after extensive restoration work, the stone and mortar of the original masonry is combined with modern materials such as reinforced concrete and aluminum, and the old buildings are reflected in the glass of the new parts.