São João del Rei, situated in the south of Minas Gerais 200km/125mi from Belo Horizonte, was founded during the gold rush at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, and was one of the main areas of conflict in the "War of the Emboabas" (1708-09), when the bandeirantes from São Paulo who had discovered the gold fought the Portuguese and Brazilians from other parts of the country who flocked into the região das minas (mining region) for control of the area. The Rio das Mortes ("River of Death"), with its old stone bridges, and the patrician houses of the colonial period still mark the pattern of the town. São João del Rei was the birthplace of José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes, leader of the Inconfidentes, and President Tancredo Neves.
The Church of Sao Francisco de Assis, built in 1774, has an architectural style that is distinctly Baroque. The facade of the church is carved from soapstone.
On Praça Frei Orlando are the house of Bárbara Heliodora, muse of the poet and Inconfidente rebel Inácio José de Alvarenga Peixoto, and the Solar do Barão de São João del Rei.
Seven Stations of Christ's Passion were erected in the 18th century at various points in the town center - in Rua Getúlio Vargas, Largo do Rosário, Praça Barão de Itambé, Largo da Cruz (or Praça Paulo Teixeira) and Rua Padre José Maria Xavier.
South-west of the Cathedral is Largo do Rosário (Praça Gastão da Cunha), with the Museum of Sacred Art (Museu de Arte Sacra) and two patrician houses, the Solar dos Lustosas and the Solar dos Neves.
On Praça Barão de Itambé, north-west of the Cathedral, is the church of Nossa Senhora das Mercês (1853). In the same square is the pelourinho (pillory; 1812).
On Sundays and public holidays an old steam train runs from the station in São João del Rei to Tiradentes (14km/8.7mi). The journey, on a line constructed in 1880, takes about half an hour and runs through beautiful scenery. At each end of the line the narrow-gauge locomotives are turned round by hand on small turntables. In the engine shed are three dozen of the old engines known as Maria-Fumaça ("Smoky Mary").
Avenida Presidente Tancredo Neves runs along the Rio das Mortes into the main road to Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro. On the other side of the river is Avenida Hermílio Alves, on which is the well-stocked Railway Museum (Museu Ferroviário), in a 19th century building.
South-east of the Cathedral on Largo Tamandaré (Avenida Presidente Tancredo Neves), is the Regional Museum (Museu Regional), housed in a building of 1859, with documents, photographs, craftsmen's equipment and other material illustrating the history of the region.
The Paço Municipal (Town Hall) stands in Rua Ministro Gabriel Passos, a side street off Avenida Hermílio Alves, which runs into Praça dos Expedicionários. In this square are the Casa da Fundição (formerly the Gold Control Office), a colonial building now occupied by a school, and the Chafariz da Legalidade ("Fountain of Legality"; 1833).
60km/37mi south-east of São João del Rei and 170km/106mi south of Belo Horizonte is Barbacena (pop. 115,000), which has a number of colonial buildings, including the Solar dos Andrades, the Palácio da Revolução Liberal ("Palace of the Liberal Revolution"), now the meeting-place of the Town Council, and the principal church, Nossa Senhora da Piedade (1743-64).
The little town of Prados, 26km/16mi north-east of São João del Rei, has many 18th century churches, including Nossa Senhora da Conceição (1711) and Nossa Senhora da Penha da França do Bichinho (1771). Here too is the Fazenda do Coqueiro, now protected as a national monument.
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São Francisco de Assis
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Tiradentes, Sao Joao del Rei
Tiradentes, Sao Joao del Rei
