Place: Ouro Preto, Brazil
Weather: Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon, 58/79F.
Route: From Diamantina 380 km south on BR-259.
Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site
Hilltop view of the historical center of the town (from whc.unesco.org)
Golden interior of one of the churches in Ouro Preto (from whc.unesco.org)
Significance: In the 18th century it was center of the Brazilian gold rush. Over 800 tons of gold was sent back to Portugal from this town. The labor required to dig out all of this gold was provided by enslaved peoples. The town was the largest in South America in the 18th century. It was ten times the size of Sao Paulo during the height of the gold rush. Many Baroque buildings built at that time still exist - many of the churches filled with gold harvested from the nearby hills.
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