Cultural sightseeing in Brazil

Those thrusting for parties should participate in carnivals taking place in Rio de Janeiro. Any Brazilian carnival is a grand cultural event, a fountain of art, an enchanting whirlpool of sounds, colors, and movements, but Rio is the capital of fun. Here, male and female dancers dressed in colorful costumes compete in the art of samba. It's almost a kilometer long parade of bright colors and music. Parades held in Recife, El Salvador, and other Brazilian cities are quieter but no less magnificent.

Being deeply religious in spite of changing times, Brazil is as if covered with churches and temples of unspeakable beauty. Just take monasteries and churches in northeastern tropical El Salvador, the capital of Bahia. The magnificent São Francisco Church and Convent was built 400 years ago. Being completely covered with quaint gilt carvings, its interior decoration is not inferior to the exterior luxury. Inside you can find a tall gold-trimmed altar, Portuguese "Azulejo" ceramic tilework, and ceiling painted in a religious manner. Next to the São Francisco Church are Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco and the Church of the Third Order of Saint Francis whose spectacular carved facade is adorned with angels and saints. Just like its neighbor, this church is as rich inside as outside.

In the capital of Brazil, the fabulous city of Brasilia built in just three years is Santuário Dom Bosco. John Bosco, a priest who lived in the 19th century, was a missionary open to everything new, which is quite unusual for that time. He was canonized in the year 1934. A square church building is designed from forty high pointed arches. The glass of large high windows shimmer with shades of blue, and inside there is a cedar crucifix and a giant chandelier made of Murano glass. Well, of course, no tour of Brazilian religious sites is complete without a visit to the amazing new Temple of Solomon in São Paulo. The building surrounded by a beautiful garden is striking with its beauty. The temple offers guided tours in Portuguese, Spanish and English. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The Church of Santa Teresa in El Salvador was opened back in 1697. A former monastery building located nearby is now occupied by the Museum of Spiritual Art. It keeps a valuable collection of portrait sculptures of the 17th-19th centuries. These sculptures were created from wood, ivory, clay, steatite (soapstone), and other materials. One of the most remarkable relics is the sculpture of the Benedictine monk Agostinho da Piedade. Here you can see works of the sculptor and monk Agostinho de Jesus and paintings by great colonialist artists like Ricardo do Pilar. The Museum is located on Sodre Street. In Brasilia, on Esplanada dos Ministérios, you will find the interesting-looking round Museum of Indigenous Peoples. It tells the history of people of a pre-colonial period with their own culture and traditions. Here you can see weapons and tools of those times, feather hats, ceramic products and much more created by hands of the indigenous peoples of South America. The museum has its own craft shop.

A modernist building of Museu de Arte in Sao Paulo on Paulista Avenue itself is an architectural landmark. It offers art lovers a huge collection of works by Western artists - the largest on the Southern continent. The museum houses bronze sculptures, works of Van Gogh, Miro and Monet, paintings by Renaissance masters and contemporary artists. In the huge Ricardo Brennand Institute surrounded by palm trees in the center of Recife, one can admire armor, weapons, and works of art, including art deco and art nouveau. The exhibition area along with the recreational space covers more than 20 thousand square kilometers. One of the museum's highlights is an exhibition of 19th-century Brazilian landscapes, as well as paintings presenting Brazil through the eyes of the Dutch. In addition, it has an auditorium, a café, Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, and a conference room where lectures on contemporary art are held. A hall of wax sculptures houses works by Daniel Drouet created in the 80's. These sculptures of wax depict French people of the 17th century. The sculptures were created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Nicholas Fouquet's death. The Superintendent of Finances of those times was accused of embezzlement and betrayal of the king.