Sabará, 25km/16mi east of Belo Horizonte in the valley of the Rio das Velhas, developed out of a settlement established by the bandeirante Borba Gato, who discovered gold in the Rio das Velhas. In 1711 it became the administrative center of the Rio das Velhas area under the name of Vila Real de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Sabará.
On Praça Getúlio Vargas is the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (1701-10), a typical example of Minas Baroque. Its rather heavy façade conceals a richly decorated interior with a golden altar and paintings on Chinese motifs.
The church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, in Rua do Carmo, was begun in 1763. In 1771 Antônio Francisco Lisboa, better known as Aleijadinho, created the façade and the soapstone emblem of the Carmelite order on the main doorway. He was also responsible for the carving on the side altars, the pulpits and the figures on the piers in the choir.
The ceiling painting in the nave, depicting Elijah being carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot, was the work of Joaquim Gonçalves da Rocha (1813).
The plain exterior of the church of Nossa Senhora do Ó, on Largo do Ó, is in sharp contrast to the sumptuous carved decoration of the choir. On the walls of the nave are paintings of the Holy Family. The end wall has chinoiserie ornament.
Borba Gato's House preserves a variety of objects from the time of the bandeirantes and the gold-prospectors. It serves as a memorial to the man who first discovered gold at Sabará in 1700 and died there eighteen years later.
Nearby, in the Casa da Intendància (1720), formerly the office and foundry of the gold inspectorate, is the Gold Museum (Museu do Ouro). This is the only surviving royal gold foundry in Brazil. Here the gold dust was weighed and cast into bars, a fifth part (quinto) being taken by the Crown. The museum displays mining equipment, furniture of the colonial period and a number of works of sacred art.
The Museum of Sacred Art is housed in the church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos da Barra on Praça Melo Viana. The church was begun in 1713 but was never completed. The Museum's collection includes works by Aleijadinho.
In Praça Getúlio Vargas is one of the Stations of the Cross, by the Chafariz da Confraria. The others are in Ruas do Carmo, do Caquende and Marquàs de Sapucaí.
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