Feliz Lusitânia (region initially called Mairi), now known as Conjunto Arquitetônico e Paisagístico Feliz Lusitânia or Complexo Turístico Feliz Lusitânia, was a

Portuguese colonial The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

settlement created in 1616 by Captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco (at the behest of the King of the

Iberian Union The Iberian Union is a historiographical term used to describe the period in which the Habsburg Spain, Monarchy of Spain under Habsburg dynasty, until then the personal union of the crowns of Crown of Castile, Castile and Crown of Aragon, Aragon ...

Manuel Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...

) in the then Conquista do Pará (or Empire of the Amazons), at the time of the overseas province of

Colonial Brazil Colonial Brazil (), sometimes referred to as Portuguese America, comprises the period from 1500, with the Discovery of Brazil, arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves ...

(1500-1815, at the time of

Portuguese America Portuguese America (), sometimes called or Lusophone America in the English language, in contrast to Anglo-America, French America, or Hispanic America, is the Portuguese-speaking community of people and their diaspora, notably those tracing b ...

), originating the

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

municipality of Belém. Feliz Lusitânia is the historical center of this municipality, located in the district of

Cidade Velha Cidade Velha (, Portuguese for "old city", also: ''Santiago de Cabo Verde'') is a city port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

and tourist area restored in 2002 by the Government of the State of Pará, when the city was going through a process of historical

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

due to

verticalization Verticalization is a phenomenon, typically seen in major cities, where there is a general increase in the population of high-rise residential buildings. As of 2024, there is no agreed-upon definition of verticalization. Across multiple research pa ...

. The complex consists of a group of Portuguese monuments and buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries, listed as a heritage site by

IPHAN The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register and ...

(Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage). It houses the following sites:

Forte do Presépio Forte do Presépio (formally Forte do Castelo do Senhor Santo Cristo do Presépio de Belém) is a fort located in Belém, Pará, Brazil. It was built in 1616 by Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco at Maúri Point, a promontory on the right bank of ...

, Dom Frei Caetano Brandão square, the Palace of the Eleven Windows, the Santo Alexandre Church and the Igreja da Sé ( Belém Metropolitan Cathedral).

History

The fort

The settlement of Feliz Lusitânia was created in the Tupinambá and Mairi territory (current Brazilian states of

Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...

, and,

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

), at the mouth of the Piry creek (on the shores of Guajará Bay), where the Tupinambá and Pacajá Indians resided. Captain Francisco Castelo Branco, at the behest of the king of the Iberian Union (during the

Philippine Dynasty The Philippine dynasty (), also known as the House of Habsburg in Portugal, was the third royal house of Portugal. It was named after the three Habsburg Spanish kings, all named Philip (; , ), who ruled Portugal between 1581 and 1640 under th ...

) was sent to defend the Amazon from foreigners, who disputed the territory of the so-called "drugs of the ''sertão''",''"Drogas do sertão"'' were spices from the region. and to colonize the Empire of the Amazonas. Thus, on January 12, 1616, he founded a wooden fort then called

(now Castelo Fort, Forte do Castelo in Portuguese) starting the settlement.

Municipality

The foundation of Feliz Lusitânia initiated a period of battles against foreigners (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, English, French) in the process of securing the dominance of the region and against the natives, in a process of colonization and enslavement trying to implement an economic model based on the exploitation of indigenous labor and primary resources. This resulted in the Tupinambá Uprising, conquering in 1619 the Castelo Fort. Gaspar Cardoso changed the course of the war by killing the ''

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

-guerreiro'' Guamiaba Tupinambá, resulting in the suspension of the attacks in order to hold the funeral. Other Indian revolts occurred until July 1621, when in 1639 Bento Maciel Parente,

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

of the Cabo Norte Captaincy, invested in the village of the Tapajó Indians, decimating them and dominating the Conquista do Pará. With the victory he was appointed Donatary captain of Grão-Pará, the Conquista was transformed into the then Captaincy of Grão-Pará (along with the creation of the State of Maranhão, with headquarters in São Luís), and the settlement was elevated to the category of municipality with the name "Santa Maria de Belém do Pará" or "Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão Pará" (later "Santa Maria de Belém do Grão Pará"), when the first streets of the region were built, originating the historic district of

Cidade Velha Cidade Velha (, Portuguese for "old city", also: ''Santiago de Cabo Verde'') is a city

First streets

The first street began at the

and was called Rua do Norte, and was renamed to Rua Siqueira Mendes in honor of the Pará journalist priest José de Siqueira Mendes (imperial senator). The second street was called Espirito Santos, being renamed to Rua Doutor Assis in honor of the Pará journalist and doctor Joaquim José de Assis (founder of the newspaper ''A Província do Pará'').''Ruas de Belém'' de Ernesto Cruz - editado pelo Conselho Estadual de Cultura do Estado do Pará, 1970, p.43 The third street was called Rua dos Cavaleiros and was renamed to Rua Doutor Malcher in honor of the physician and former governor of the capital José da Gama Malcher. The fourth street created was called Rua São João, being renamed to João Diogo in honor of the politician João Diogo Clemente.

Areas of the complex

The Feliz Lusitânia complex is composed of: * The Castle Fort; * Palace of the Eleven Windows; * Santo Alexandre Church/Church of Sacred Art (former Episcopal Palace); * Metropolitan Cathedral of Belém; * Ladeira do Castelo/North Street (current Siqueira Mendes Street); * Círio Museum; * Lauro Sodré Palace / Pará State Museum (MEP); * Antônio Lemos Palace/ Belém Art Museum (MAB);

Forte do Presépio

The cradle of the city was built by Castelo Branco in 1616 to protect the Amazon from the

and French invaders. It has a collection of Marajoara and Tapajó ceramics from before the arrival of the Portuguese. The fort still has the original cannons intact.

Dom Frei Caetano Square

Completed in 1900, it is also known as Largo da Sé. It is the starting point for sightseeing in the historic center. The square has a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

monument dedicated to Bishop Caetano Brandão.

Palace of the Eleven Windows

Important urban landmark in Belém, built in the 18th century by Domingos da Costa Barcelar, a wealthy mill owner. In 1768, it was converted into a military hospital by the government of

Grão Pará Grão-Pará is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The municipality contains part of the Serra Furada State Park, ...

. The house had military functions from 1870 until 2001, when it was bought by the state government to serve as a tourist attraction in the capital.

Sacred Art Museum

Architected in the Amazonian

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style, the current version was completed in 1719. Its convent is the most important

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

complex in Brazil. Its construction started around 1698 and it was inaugurated on March 21, 1719. It also works as a scenic-musical space for theater shows and recitals, and was recently restored to house the Museum of Sacred Art. The Museum of Sacred Art is composed of the Church of Santo Alexandre and the Episcopal Palace (former Colégio de Santo Alexandre).

Metropolitan Cathedral of Belém

Its construction began around 1748 and was completed in 1782 by Antonio Landi after some interruptions. Its altar was donated by Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

, and the church has 28 English

chandeliers and ten side altars with remarkable paintings.

Ladeira do Castelo

The first street of Belém is considered to be Rua Siqueira Mendes, formerly Rua do Norte. However, there are cases in which Ladeira do Castelo ("Castle Hill" in English) is registered as the first street of the city of Belém, located next to Forte do Presépio, connecting the Sé Square to Feira do Açaí. The north–south; East/West tracing of the Portuguese "new cities" reinforces the register of the regional historiography about the pioneering of Rua Siqueira Mendes/Rua do Norte, including the connection of Largo da Sé (currently Frei Caetano Brandão Square) with Largo do Carmo.

Gentrification

As well as the other projects linked to the

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

issue (construction of new buildings adding value to the region and affecting the local low-income population), such as Estação das Docas and Mangal das Garças, are considered enclaves in the landscape, because they do not articulate with the surrounding community (lower class), and can generate processes of social-spatial

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of human ...

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, History, Brazil Belém Pará Colonial Brazil Portuguese colonization of the Americas Tourism in Brazil by city