The Sobrado at Rua Castro Alves, 2 () is a Portuguese-colonial era '' sobrado'', or urban manor house, in

São Cristóvão São Cristóvão (, ''Saint Christopher'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern state of Sergipe. Founded at the mouth of the Vaza-Barris River on January 1, 1590, the municipality is ...

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geogra ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is one of two large two-storey sobrados in São Cristóvão, the other being Sobrado at Rua da Matriz. The sobrado has two stories and cover covers . It was listed as a historic structure by the

National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage 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 an ...

(IPHAN) in 1943, and became part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

São Francisco Square São Francisco Square () is a historic plaza in São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil. The square, or ''praça'', is an open space surrounded by Portuguese colonial-period buildings such as the Church and Convent of Santa Cruz (São Francisco Church) ...

() in 2010. The sobrado now houses the São Cristóvão office of IPHAN.

Location

The Sobrado at Rua Castro Alves, 2 is located in the upper city (''cidade alta'') of São Cristóvão on

() in close proximity to numerous other heritage sites. The sobrado sits on the southwest corner of the square facing the

Misericórdia Hospital and Church Misericórdia () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in the historic center of Lisbon, Misericórdia is to the east of Estrela, west of Santa Maria Maior, and south of Santo António. It is ...

, separated by Rua Cel. Erondino Prado. The Provincial Palace of Sergipe, now the State Historic Museum of Sergipe, sits directly west, separated only by the narrow Rua Leão Magno.

History

The construction of the Sobrado at Rua Castro Alves, 2 dates to the end of the 18th century. It was built by Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Xavier de Oliveira Sobral, and passed on in a donation letter to Father José Valentim de Oliveira Sobral in 1810. The property remained the property of the priest until his death, as stated in the inventory of Lieutenant Colonel Luís Francisco Freire, the Baron of Laranjeiras, who acquired it from his heirs. It was then owned by Anna Francisca Freire, Manuel Santos Lima, Anna Bonfim Pires and finally Maria Antonieta Costa Santos who, in 2003, sold the sobrado to the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage. It now hosts exhibitions and workshops related to cultural heritage. In 2006, a historical survey and archaeological intervention carried out on the occasion of the building's restoration work clarified the question about the occupation of the townhouse, without confirming, however, the occupation of the property by the Ombudsman or Provincial Assembly.

Structure

The sobrado is located at one of the corners of São Francisco square in close alignment with Rua Cel. Erondino Prado. It has two floors with a small yard at rear. The sobrado covers on a site. Its walls are of rammed earth, brick masonry, stone masonry; wooden pillars that support sections of the first floor. The four doors (one now altered into a window) on the ground floor correspond roughly to six windows on the upper floor; each window has a distinctive wood balcony. Little remains of the interior elements of the building, other than a few paintings discovered during renovations.

References

{{reflist, 2, refs= {{Cite Q, Q76009501, page=32-33 {{cite web , url=http://www.ipatrimonio.org/sao-cristovao-sobrado-r-castro-alves-no-2/ , title=São Cristóvão – Sobrado R. Castro Alves, nº 2 , language=pt , publisher=iPatrimônio , date=2022 , accessdate=2022-03-03 {{Cite Q, Q109628634, page=5 National heritage sites of Sergipe Portuguese colonial architecture in Brazil Buildings and structures in Sergipe