Heavy Rains Destroy
Historic Buildings in Brazil
BRASILIA -
Floods caused by heavy rains destroyed
historic buildings early this month in the
Brazilian city of Sao Luiz do Paraitinga,
local media reported on Monday.
The city is the only one in the state of Sao
Paulo to have preserved a complex of 19th
century buildings in good condition and in
large number.
Paulo Marins, a historian and professor of
University of Sao Paulo (USP), described the
consequence of floods as a "shock" to the
preservation of Brazilian cultural heritage.
Sao Luiz do Paraitinga has a very strong
tradition of cultural manifestations, such
as the Carnival celebrations. Furthermore,
the city is an ideal place for the study of
neoclassical architecture in Sao Paulo.
Other municipalities, such as
Pindamonhangaba, Guaratingueta, Itu and
Campinas, also have properties belonging to
neoclassical phase, but they are isolated
and mixed with modern buildings.
According to the National Institute of
Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan),
reconstruction of buildings knocked down by
the flood should begin as soon as possible,
based on records of buildings declared as
cultural and historic heritage. |
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