4 Best Sights in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais

The impressive Our Lady of Carmel Church, completed in 1776, contains the last works of notable Brazilian sculptor Aleijadinho. It was originally designed by Aleijadinho's father, an architect, but was later modified by Aleijadinho, who added additional rococo elements, including the soapstone sculptures of angels above the entrance. Frequented by the high society of Ouro Preto at the time it was inaugurated, the church contains the only examples of azulejos (decorative Portuguese tiles) from this period in Minas Gerais.

Local lore has it that 400 pounds of gold and silver leaf were used to cover the interior of Ouro Preto's most richly decorated church, built on the site of an earlier chapel and consecrated in 1733. In addition to gold- and silver-clad sculptures of cherubs, flowers, and saints, highlights of the church's interior include a beautiful series of paintings by Bernardo Pires, as well as two massive angels made in solid silver. The church building also houses the Museu de Arte Sacra (Museum of Sacred Art), which has a collection of church furnishings and sculptures attributed to Aleijadinho.

Considered the masterpiece of Brazilian sculptor Aleijadinho, this church was begun in 1766 by the Franciscan Third Order but wasn't completed until 1810. Aleijadinho designed the structure and was responsible for the wood and soapstone sculptures on the portal, high altar, side altars, pulpits, and crossing arch. Manuel da Costa Ataíde, a brilliant artist in his own right, painted the panel on the nave ceiling representing the Virgin's glorification. Cherubic faces, garlands of tropical fruits, and allegorical characters carved into the main altar are still covered with their original paint.

One of the best historical museums in Brazil, this former 18th-century prison and onetime city hall has great interactive computer and television screen displays devoted to the history of the failed uprising of the Inconfidentes, life in colonial Tiradentes, slavery, and a number of other interesting topics. Other displays include period furniture, clothing, slaves' manacles, firearms, books, and gravestones. The museum also holds the remains of revolutionaries, some brought back from exile in Portugal's African colonies, and the document in which Maria I details the fate of Tiradentes's body parts.