The Description of the City Olinda,
Pernambuco, Brazil
of the Hotel Pousada Peter
- Art Gallery,
Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil

Founded in 1537 by Duarte Coelho Pereira, Olinda became the cradle of Brazilian culture in the 16^th century and the first capital of the province of Pernambuco. Later the town became one of the most important cultural centres of Brazil, the home of artists, sculpturers, and writers and the founding place of Brazil's first law school. Led by Moritz von Nassau the town was conquered by the Dutch in 1630. Moritz von Nassau intensively promoted the fine arts of the region. The strong Dutch influence of those days can still be traced today.

Due to its exciting past, its both, beautiful and important architectural and cultural heritage as well as its outstanding natural beauty and its unique topography the town became a National Monument of Brazil in 1980 and two years later was declared World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

Today, Olinda is one of Brazil's most popular tourist sights visited by people from all over the world. They love its natural and cultural beauties, its grand festivals, above all its carnival with its outsize puppets which are as famous as their Venice and Rio de Janeiro counterparts.

The patio of Hotel Pousada Peter, just a few yards off Alto da Sé, offers a splendid view of the centre of Recife. The subtle layout of its gardens abounding with bouganvillaeas of various kinds and colours enchant the eye. In the midst of this ecological scenario, saluted by grateful birds, the pools invite the guests to while away their time under century-old foliage.

Olinda's charming atmosphere is the result of natural, architectural, historical and artistic affluence being fused - a luxuriant vegetation mingling with a great number of age-old temples, baroque churches, steep roads, old houses, sights and beaches Olinda's inhabitants are a merry, creative, hospitable and communicative people. The elevated old town is a centre of popular and classic artists and craftsmen focussing on music, folklore, dance and crafts. Its gastronomy is unique with its typical and tasty dishes. There is a wide range of restaurants offering the local fare, fruits de mer and tropical fruits in particular.

Living in Olinda means experiencing unforgettable moments, enjoying the culture, arts and festivals of the New World. For every soul coming in the quest of pure joy and genuine sentiment, visiting Olinda means being spell-bound by this town.

Olinda today
and other useful informations

OLINDA is, quite simply, one of the largest and most beautiful complexes of colonial architecture in Brazil: a maze of cobbled streets, hills crowned with brilliant white churches, pastel-coloured houses, Baroque fountains and graceful squares. Not surprisingly, in 1982 it was designated a cultural heritage site by UNESCO. Founded in 1535, the old city is spread across several small hills looking back towards Recife, but it belongs to a different world. In many ways Olinda is the Greenwich Village of Recife; it's here that many of the larger city's artists, musicians and liberal professionals live, and it's also the centre of Recife's gay scene. Olinda is most renowned, though, for its Carnaval, famous throughout Brazil, which attracts visitors from all over the country, as well as sizeable contingents from Europe.

A city in its own right, Olinda is far larger than it first appears. The old colonial centre is built on the hills, slightly back from the sea, but arching along the seafront and spreading inland behind the old town is a modern Brazilian city of over 300,000 people - known as Novo Olinda, the usual bland collection of suburbs and main commercial drags. Like Recife, Novo Olinda has a growing reputation for robberies, but the heart of colonial Olinda is safe enough. There's a calm, almost sleepy atmosphere about the
place, and wandering around at night is pretty safe. Despite its size, Olinda has become effectively a neighbourhood of Recife: a high proportion of the population commutes into the city, which means that transport links are good, with buses leaving every few minutes.


The main bus stop in Olinda is on the place
Praça do Carmo.

To/ From Recife

Buses marked "Rio Doce/ Conde da Boa Vista" and "Casa Caiada" go to the center of Recife. Taxis cost about $12. From Recife, take any "Rio Doce", "Casa Caiada" or "Jardim Atlântico" bus to Olinda.

To/ From Boa Viagem

Buses marked "Rio Doce/ Piedade" go to Boa Viagem and marked "Rio Doce/ Casa Caiada-Barra de Jangada" go to Boa Viagem and to the Shopping Center Recife.

To/ From Estação Mêtro to TIP (Estação Rodoviaria)

Buses marked "Rio Doce/ Princesa Isabel" go to the Estação Mêtro" to the centre of Recife (6 kilometers) and from there the mêtro to the TIP.

Finally, note that the beach is awful - polluted and smelly - so you'll need to head out of town if you want to sunbathe or swim.

Another important bus stop in Olinda is on the
place "Largo do Amparo", 200 meters far from Hotel Pousada Peter in "Cidade Alta", the historic centre.

To/ From Recife

Buses marked "Amparo" go to the centre of Recife, 7 kilometers far from Hotel Pousada Peter. Taxis cost about R$12. From Recife, take any "Rio Doce", "Casa Caiada" or "Jardim Atlântico" bus to Olinda to Praça do Carmo. Only the bus "Amparo" goes back to the historic centre and the place Largo do Amparo.

The Amparo buses are passing by first from the historic centre of Olinda to the Shopping Center Tacaruna, 4 kilometers far from Hotel Pousada Peter. From there the Amparo buses go to town town Recife, more 3 kilometers, making a big circle and returning to the historic centre of Olinda. It is nearly a small City Tour.
 

The Town

Olinda's hills are steep, and you'll be best rewarded by taking a leisurely stroll around the town. A good spot to have a drink and plan your attack is the Alto da Sé, the highest square in the town, not least because of the stunning view of Recife's skyscrapers shimmering in the distance, framed in the foreground by the church towers, gardens and palm trees of Olinda. There's always an arts and crafts market going on here during the day, peaking in the late afternoon; a lot of the things on offer are pretty good, but the large numbers of tourists have driven prices up, and there's little here you can't get cheaper in Recife or the interior.

The churches you see are not quite as old as they look. The Dutch burnt them all down, except one, in 1630, built none of their own, and left the Portuguese to restore them during the following centuries. There are eighteen churches dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries left today, seemingly tucked around every corner and up every street. Very few of them have set opening times, but they're usually open during weekday mornings, and even when they're closed you can try knocking on the door and asking for the vigia, the watchman.

If you have time to see only one church it should be the Convento Franciscano (Mon-Fri 8-11.30am & 2.30-5pm, Sat 8am-5.30pm), tucked away on Rua São Francisco. Built in 1585, the complex of convent, chapel and church has been stunningly restored to its former glory; particular highlights are the tiled cloister depicting the lives of Jesus and St Francis of Asissi, and the sacristy's beautiful Baroque furniture carved from jacaranda wood. In the north wing there's an elaborate two-tiered altarpiece in gold leaf and white, and behind the convent there's a grand patio with even grander panoramas across the ocean.

Among other churches, the Igreja da Misericórdia, built right at the top of an exhaustingly steep hill, has a fine altar and rear walls covered in blue azulejo, while the Mosteiro de Sâo Bento (Mon-Fri 8am-noon & 2-6pm, Sat 8am-noon, Sun 10am-5pm) looks quite wonderful from the outside with palm trees swaying in the courtyard, though the interior is less striking. The Igreja da Sé, on the praça of the same name, is rather bland and austere inside - more of a museum than a living church - but is worth a look if only to see the eighteenth-century sedan chair and large wooden sculptures in the small room at the northeast wing. By the Praça do Carmo, there's the run-down but quite splendid Igreja do Carmo, which sits majestically on a small hill looking down on the busy streets below, while up Rua do Amparo there's the fine eighteenth-century Igreja do Amparo, and within view of this the deserted ruins of the Igreja de São João Batista dos Militares, the one church which escaped the Dutch invaders' fires of 1630.

There's also a good sampling of religious art on display in the Museu de Arte Sacra de Pernambuco (Mon-Fri 8am-1pm), in the seventeenth-century bishop's palace by the Alto da Sé. The Museu Regional (Tues-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 2-5pm), at Rua do Amparo 128, is well laid out, too, although the emphasis is too much on artefacts and too little on history.

There's more contemporary interest in the colourful graffiti in which the old city is swathed. The local council commissions artists to adorn certain streets and walls, which has the twin advantage of keeping local talent in work and ensuring Olinda has the highest-quality graffiti in Brazil. Some are political, urging people to vote for this or that candidate, some are more abstract - illustrated poems about Olinda being especially popular - but all are colourful, artistic and blend in uncannily well with the colonial architecture. One of the best places to see them is along the municipal cemetery walls on the Avenida Liberdade, but there are good graffiti all over the old city, especially during elections and Carnaval.

More serious modern art is to be found in the Museu de Arte Contemporânea, on Rua 13 de Maio next to the market (Tues-Fri 9am-noon & 2-5pm, Sat & Sun 2-5pm): it's a fine eighteenth-century building that was once used as a jail by the Inquisition, though the exhibits themselves are a bit disappointing. Much more interesting is the Museu do Mamulengo (Tues-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 2-5pm) at Rua do Amparo 59, which houses an excellent collection of traditional puppets.

Olinda's several markets and endless artesenato shops make it a good place for shopping . The Mercado da Ribeira, built in the sixteenth century, is at Rua Bernardo Vieira de Melo 160, and offers the usual range of craft goods, while a ten-minute walk down Rua 15 de Novembro from the Governor's Palace, there's another bigger artesenato and antique market housed in the long pink building by the main road, Largo do Varadouro.

About 10 km from Igarassu is the small town of Itapissuma, which is worth visiting to see the Igreja São Gonçalvo do Amarante (1795), on Rua Manoel Lourenço.

ITAMARACÁ

About 10 km from Itapissuma, linked with the bridge "Itamaracá", is the island Itamaracá.

Know before you go to Itamaraca

The island of Itamaracá, is separated from the continent by the "Santa Cruz" channel. Its roads are surrounded by coconut trees lead to innumerable beaches and monuments, a unique combination of landscapes and history.

Local legend says Itamaracá was once the site of the Garden of Eden, and the short drive across the causeway from Itapissuma promises much, passing amongst thousands of palm trees lapped by fields of sugar cane - the rich but sickly smell just before the harvest in March is enough to make you feel distinctly queasy. So it's a shame to have to say that the town of ITAMARACÁ is something of a disappointment. It's very crowded and increasingly scarred by the hundreds of weekend homes springing up in ugly rashes along the beaches - alongside the humble wattle huts roofed with palm leaves where the original islanders have managed to hold on. One of the first parts of Brazil to be settled by the Portuguese, Itamaracá was so prosperous as a sugar plantation that it was also the first part of Pernambuco to be occupied by the Dutch, who built a fort here.

Its main attractions are:

Forte Orange: built in 1631 by the Dutch as the first bastion of defense of the land just conquered, it was taken back by the Portuguese in 1654 and reconstructed in accordance with the Portuguese architectural style. Its 13 cannons remain today respectably pointing to the sea of green calm waters. The walls of the Fortress have resisted for more than 350 years to the beating of the waves during high tide. From the beach in front of the Fortress, you can take a raft until the "Coroa do Avião", an islet in the entry of the "Santa Cruz" channel. Or, if you prefer, take a ride on a glider: the view is breathtaking. The "Coroa do Avião", breakpoint of small migratory birds called "maçaricos", is also an excellent point to practice some nautical sports: jet-ski, banana-boats, rafts and sail boats are available to be rented by the tourists.

Itamaracá has a reputation as an idyllic rural retreat, away from the pressures of life in Recife. This might have been true fifteen years ago, but it's stretching things a little now. Nonetheless, there are a couple of places of interest. The first building you see as you arrive on the island is an enormous open prison: all the fields are cultivated by prisoners, easily recognizable in blue and grey uniforms with ID cards pinned to their chests. They run a group of cafés and shops on the road just past the prison, selling handmade jewellery and bone carvings. These shops are built near the Engenho São João (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm), much better preserved than Monjope, with most of the original machinery used for pressing cane, boiling the syrup and refining sugar still intact. A turn-off just before the town (you'll probably end up walking as local buses exist but are very infrequent) leads 5km through tacky villas before rewarding you with the Forte Oranje , another star-shaped Dutch fort built in 1631 by Maurice of Nassau to protect the newly occupied sugar estates. There's a vicious enfilade at the front gate, where attackers were filtered through a zigzag corridor and exposed to musket fire from slits on all sides, and there are a few old cannons lying around on the ramparts with the makers' crests still visible. The souvenir shop inside is the most overpriced in Pernambuco, but the beachside bars opposite are really good value, with excellent food - highlight is the casquinho de carangueijo, crab meat fried with garlic and onions, served in the shell and covered with roasted manioc flour. A couple of iced beers here, looking out across the bay, should be enough to make you feel better disposed towards the island, especially if you catch somebody selling the delicious local oysters out of a bucket. You buy them by the half dozen, for around $1: the seller flicks them open with a knife and supplies a lime to squeeze over them.

Manatee Preservation Center: opened from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 to 16hs, it is an excellent place to see the Manatee, an exotic marine mammal native from the waters of the island.

Please mouse-click on the pictures of Olinda for close-ups !

The Beaches
of Pernambuco, Brazil !


There are many Excursions from Olinda
to the Beaches of Pernambuco, Brazil.
To see the Map of the Beaches,
please click here !




Olinda
- The Description of the Town





The Description
of the twenty Churches
of Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil

THE CARNIVAL OF OLINDA,
PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL -
CLICK HERE, PLEASE !



PRE-CARNIVAL
AND THE CARNIVAL
OF RECIFE AND OLINDA,
PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL !



To see a Video
about the Carnival of Olinda
and in Pernambuco, Brazil,
please click here !



To hear the famous Music of the Frevo
of the Carnival of Olinda,
Pernambuco, Brazil,
please click here !



The City Hall of Olinda
- Prefeitura de Olinda



Recife
- The Description of the Town



The Map and the Touristic Points
of the City Recife,
Pernambuco, Brazil.
Please click her !



To know more about the first
Jewish Synagogue of North and
South America,
"Kahal Zur Israel",
in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Please click here !




The Hadassah News
about Recife
Pernambuco, Brazil !

Hotel Pousada Peter
- Art Gallery
Managing Director Peter Bauer
Rua do Amparo 215
Olinda – Pernambuco – Brazil
Citycode: 53020 - 170
Phone/ Fax: 0055 - 81 - 3439.2171
Homepage: www.pousadapeter.com.br
E-mail: pousadapeter@uol.com.br