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Sao Paulo Monuments & Museums
If you are very passionate of all monuments, museums and all the architecture of a town, you can find here all that you are looking for. Here you can find information about all the best monuments of Sao Paulo. Information about Sao Paulo monuments, landmarks, historic buildings and museums in Sao Paulo.
Sao Paulo Monuments & Museums
"Sao Paulo Sites of interest
São Paulo is a major cultural centre. The city has an ethnically diverse metropolitan area, with heavy Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, among other influences.
The city is known for its varied and sophisticated cuisine, ranging from Chinese to French, from fast food chains to five star restaurants. There are approximately 62 different types of cuisines in São Paulo, and more than 12,000 restaurants. Other venues such as bars, pubs, lounges and discos cater to a variety of music tastes.
São Paulo is home to the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II in the first half of the XX century and "Pinacoteca do Estado" art museums, a symphonic orchestra (São Paulo State Symphony (OSESP - based in the Sala São Paulo theatre in the gorgeous Julio Prestes train station), and a Formula One Grand Prix racing circuit (Interlagos).
Landmarks
* Paulista Avenue (one of the most important thoroughfares of the city and the site of many cultural centers and museums, such as the MASP and Centro Cultural Itaú).
* Brooklin (a financial district of São Paulo).
* Banespa Building (skyscraper with observation deck and museum designed after the Empire State building).
* Catedral da Sé (the metropolitan cathedral, a symbol of the city).
* Edifício Copan, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, in the Centro neighbourhood. Built between 1951 and 1966, its wavy shape gives the building an impression of movement, and the integration of small businesses and residential flats are of innovative urbanism.
* Edifício Itália (skyscraper with observation deck).
* Estação da Luz (historical railway station built 1895-1901).
* Ibirapuera Park (the second largest park of the city (Parque do Carmo is the biggest), is also home to several museums. It is known for its buildings designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, such as the Oca and the new Ibirapuera Auditorium).
* Mooca (Italian district of São Paulo).
* Liberdade (Asian district of São Paulo).
* Mercado Municipal (historical market place in São Paulo).
* Municipal Theatre of São Paulo (magnificent opera house built in the early 20th century.)
* Museu de Arte Sacra (museum of religious art located in a colonial convent).
* Museu do Ipiranga (museum built where the Independence of Brazil was proclaimed in 1822).
* Museum of the Portuguese Language (located inside Estação da Luz).
* Pátio do Colégio (founding site of the city, former Jesuit mission-school to convert the natives to Catholicism).
* Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (important museum of Brazilian art).
* Praça da Sé (large square next to the São Paulo Cathedral. Official centre of the city).
* Shopping Malls Center Leste Aricanduva, Iguatemi, Ibirapuera, Morumbi, Eldorado, Pátio Higienópolis, Anália Franco, Cidade Jardim, and many others.
Theaters
Many historians believe that the first theatre performance in Brazil was held in São Paulo. The Portuguese Jesuit José de Anchieta (1534-1597) wrote short plays that were performed and watched by the Brazilian native Indians. After that, however, São Paulo became a province and cultural activities lost momentum. It was only in the beginning of the 20th century that, thanks to the coffee cycle and the wealth it brought, major European ethnic groups started making presentations in some of the state's countryside cities. Theatres such as Pedro II, in Ribeirão Preto, welcomed groups that had already performed in Manaus, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. The most important period for the art in São Paulo took place during the avant-grade time. It was in São Paulo that a professional company, Teatro Brasileiro de Comédia, or TBC (Brazilian Theater of Comedy) made its first presentation. During the 60s, major theater productions in São Paulo and Brazil were presented by two groups. Teatro de Arena began with a group of students from Escola de Arte Dramática (Drama Art School), founded by Alfredo Mesquita, in 1948. In 1958, the group excelled with the play "Eles não usam black tie", a masterpiece by Gianfrancesco Guarnieri that, for the first time in the history of the Brazilian drama, had labor workers as protagonists.
Further to that, after the coup of 1964, theater plays started focusing the Brazilian history (Zumbi, Tiradentes). Teatro de Arena was an embattled stage for the democratic resistance during the military dictatorship period, marked by its censorship. Teatro Oficina also played an important role. It was there that the tropical movement began. There was a number of plays that represented historic moments, among which "O Rei da Vela", "Galileu Galilei" (1968), "Na Sela das Cidades" (1969) and "Gracias Señor" (1972). Today, all kinds of plays are performed at São Paulo's dozens of theatres, going from classical music, ballet to avant-garde plays.
Museums
Museu do Ipiranga The first monument especially built to preserve the memory of the Independence of Brazil, was opened on September 7, 1895, with the name of Museu de Ciências Naturais (Natural Science Museum). In 1919, it became once again a historic museum. Its collection, with approximately 100,000 pieces, comprises works of art, furniture, clothing, and appliances that once belonged to famous people who took part in the Brazilian history, such as explorers and emperors. Its facilities are also home to a library with 100,000 books and Centro de Documentação Histórica (Historic Documentation Center), with 40,000 manuscripts.
* Memorial da América Latina
Stretching over 78,000 square meters, Memorial da América Latina (Latin America's Memorial) was conceived to be a place for the integration of Latin American countries and their roots and cultures. Memorial is home to the headquarters of Parlamento Latino-Americano - Parlatino (Latin American Parliament). Designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer, Memorial has an exhibition pavilion, where there is a permanent exhibition of the continent's craftwork production; a library with books, newspapers, magazines, videos, films and records about the history of Latin America; and an auditorium with capacity for 1,679 people.
* Museu da Imigração e Memorial do Imigrante
Hospedaria do Imigrante (Immigrant's Hostel) was opened to gather and preserve the documentation, memory and objects of the immigrants that came to Brazil in search for hope, adventures and wealth, or just to leave behind the difficult lives they had in their countries. Located in one of the few centenarian buildings of the city of São Paulo, the museum occupies part of the former Hostel: an incredible center built in 1886-1888 in Brás with the aim of welcoming the immigrants brought by the Government and helping them find work.
From 1882 to 1978, people of more than 60 nationalities and races were guests there, all of them duly registered in the museum's books and lists. The hostel used to serve approximately 3,000 people on average, but under special circumstances, this number reached 8,000 people. Aside from bringing the immigrants' history to the public, the museum also restores wooden train cars (they are called cars and not wagons because they were used to transport people, not cargo) from the former São Paulo Railway. There are two restored cars in the museum, one of which a luggage, mail and train car, which dates from 1914, and another one a 2nd class passenger car, which dates from 1931. Memorial do Imigrante (Memorial of the Immigrant) is a fair tribute to the men and women who, thanks to their dreams, desire to grow and hard work, transformed not only São Paulo but also the country.
* Museu de Zoologia da USP
Occupying an area of 700 square meters, the animals shown in the museum are samples of the country's tropical fauna and were prepared (embalmed) more than 50 years ago. In the entrance hall, there is information about the main activities carried out by USP's staff and by the museum's researchers. The animals are grouped together according to their classification: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, and some invertebrates such as reefs, crustaceans and mollusks. The library, specialized in zoology, has modern facilities and equipment and serve both the scientific community and the public in general. It has 73,850 works, of which 8,473 are books and 2,364 are newspapers, in addition to theses and maps.
* Museu de Arte de São Paulo
The museum was founded by the journalist Assis Chateaubriand and by Pietro Maria Bardi. Its current headquarters, opened in 1968, were designed by the architect Lina Bo Bardi. Two enormous colonnades support the 9,2 thousand ton building, forming a 74-meter free space. MASP has one of Latin America's most important collections of European art, including works of art by distinguished artists such as Degas, Renoir, Modigliani and Bonnard, among others.
* Acervo do Palácio dos Bandeirantes
The headquarters of the State Government has an important collection of works of art by Brazilian artists, such as Portinari, Aldo Bonadei, Djanira, Almeida Júnior, Victor Brecheret, Ernesto de Fiori and Aleijadinho. Additionally, it also gathers colonial furniture, leather and silver artefacts, and European tapestry. In eclectic style, its walls are covered with panels describing the history of São Paulo.
* Museu da Imagem e do Som
Opened in May, 1990, the main aim of Museu da Imagem e do Som (Image and Sound Museum) is to keep and preserve manifestations in the music, cinema, photography, and graphical arts areas, as well as any other manifestation related to the Brazilian contemporary life. MIS has a collection of more than 200,000 images, distributed in thematic collections of diverse content. It has more than 1,600 fiction videotapes, documentaries and music, and 12,750 titles recorded in Super 8 and 16 mm. Additionally, MIS organizes concerts, cinema and video festivals, and photography and graphical arts exhibitions."
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