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Description
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Created
to replace Ouro Preto as the capital of the state of Minas
Gerais, Belo Horizonte is one of the few Brazilian towns that
were planned. Situated at an altitude of 858.3 metres, its construction
began in 1893 and it was inaugurated four years later with the
name Cidade de Minas Gerais. In planning it, the engineers, Aarγo
Reis and Francisco Bicalho, found their inspiration in the town
plan of Washington DC (USA).
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- Belo Horizonte
is the fourth city in the country in population, with 2.3 million
inhabitants. Its metropolitan region is formed by 20 municipalities.
The capital is also a gateway to historical towns like Ouro Preto
and Mariana and to the Lapinha and Maquinι grottoes.
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- Because
it is a city that was actually planned, and also because of its
neoclassical and modern architectural features, Belo Horizonte
can be regarded as a landmark for town planning and for architecture
in the country. Anyone visiting it must not miss the Pampulha
centre, the site of the first revolutionary works of Oscar Niemeyer,
the best known Brazilian architect. The Pampulha also has works
by the artist Cβndido Portinari, the landscape architect Burle
Marx and the sculptor Ceschiatti and includes the church of Sγo
Francisco de Assis, the Belo Horizonte Museum of Art, the Yacht
Club, the Dancing Academy, the House of Juscelino Kubitschek,
the Headquarters of the Zoo-Botanical Foundation, the monument
to Iemanjα and the Mineirγo and Mineirinho stadiums, registered
as historic heritage.
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- Another
of the important architectural works of Belo Horizonte is the
Palace of Liberty, the seat of the State Government. Constructed
in the neoclassical style, it is the result of the influence exercised
on Brazilian architecture by a French mission that visited the
country at the end of last century. Particularly interesting as
places to be visited in the capital are the Mineralogy and Historical
Museums and the Palace of the Arts, situated in the Municipal
Park, with a modern theatre, cinema, craft shop and space for
exhibitions of plastic arts.
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- In the area
surrounding Belo Horizonte are parks of great natural richness
such as Mangabeiras, located six kilometres from the city in the
Serra do Curral. This park provides an astonishing view of the
capital with an area of 2.35 million m2, of which 900 000 m2 are
native forest. There is also the Mata do Jambeiro nature reserve
extending over 912 hectares, with vegetation typical of the Atlantic
Forest. In it live more than one hundred species of birds and
ten different species of mammals.
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