Only 80 km separates the capital of Minas Gerais state, Belo Horizonte, and one of the country’s greatest Baroque treasures: the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, located in Congonhas, Minas Gerais. Declared a World Heritage site in 1985, the location features one of the great works of Aleijadinho, the 12 Prophets sculpted in stone, among other riches, such as the six accompanying chapels.

From this Tuesday (15/12/2015), locals and tourists have access to a new space dedicated to this site: the Congonhas Museum. As well as casting a new light on this heritage site, the museum will allow for a greater understanding of this cultural-historical period and promote the development of new studies and research.

The museum opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, after an inauguration ceremony conducted by the Ministry of Culture (MinC), the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Brazil, the Brazilian Federal Government and the Congonhas municipal authority. The inauguration integrated the celebrations of the 30 years of the World Heritage title and the 70 years of UNESCO.

Present at the opening ceremony, President Dilma Rousseff emphasized the role of the museum in the promotion of cultural, touristic, and economic development in the region, and the reduction of the dependence on mining. She congratulated all those involved in the project, which took around 10 years to accomplish.

President Dilma also spoke of future preservation effort that will be carried out in the city. “The intention is to transform the museum into a reference center for studies and research on the Baroque and the conservation of soapstone monuments”, she said.

Emotion

Visibly moved, the Minister of Culture, Juca Ferreira, also emphasized the more than 10 years of perseverance, commitment, and work of everyone involved in getting the museum off the ground. “Your emotions are mine too. I was here 12 years ago, when I was the executive secretary of Gilberto Gil and he promised that he would build this museum”, he remembered.

 “This museum means a great deal to Brazilian culture. Congonhas is a center aimed at education and research, and this museum encourages visitors to come to the city and enables it to contextualize both its history and the value of the art”, he confirmed. “From the Brazil of mines and of gold, sprung the talent of Aleijadinho, whose art left a unique mark on this city, this state and our country”, he concluded.

Jurema Machado, President of Iphan and one of the key people involved in the completion of the museum, said it was a “very special and emotional (day) to finish such a long project”.

The Director of UNESCO in Brazil, Lucien Muñoz, stressed the importance of the museum. “The concept of the museum is that it be a vector of development for Congonhas. The museum seeks to empower the qualities of the World Heritage site as well as the valorization of religious vocation and pilgrimage of the place”.

The opening ceremony was also attended by the President of the Brazilian Institute of Museums (Ibram), Carlos Roberto Brandão, and the Mayor of Congonhas, José de Freitas Cordeiro, among other authorities.

The museum

The permanent exhibit that opened with the Congonhas Museum, under the curation of museum experts Letícia Julião and Rene Lommez, covers the manifestations of faith in the past and present, and in particular, the sense of the manifestation of devotion projected in the theatrical monumentality of the Sanctuary’s space, in the practices of pilgrimage and in the ex-votos. The exhibit also portrays the Sanctuary as an expression of cultural transit resulting from the Portuguese expansion; of the relationship between the religious space and Congonhas’ urban life; of the Santuary as an object of art in itself; of the work of Aleijadinho, but also of artistic production as a result of a collective process of distinct artists; and the shift from art as the transcendence of faith to the object of faith converted into art.

The exhibit’s layout, by Spanish designer Luis Sardá, is carefully respectful of the diverse public that visits the city, offering them innumerable possibilities to experience the museum’s rich content.

Housed in a building with 3,450 m2 of floorspace, the museum was constructed from the plans of the architect Gustavo Penna, winner of a national contest. The museum includes three floors of exhibition halls, a library, storage area, auditorium, atelier, educational space, cafeteria, open-air amphitheatre, and administrative areas. Funds from the Rouanet Law (A Brazilian law that encourages cultural investment) were used in its construction. (Source: Cecília Coelho/Ascom do Ministério da Cultura)

Service:
 Congonhas Museum (Museu de Congonhas)

Address: Alameda Cidade de Matosinhos de Portugal, Congonhas, Minas Gerais

Opening Hours: Tue.–Sun.: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wed.: 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Tickets: R$ 10. Guided tours will be offered to spontaneous groups. 

Information: (+55-31) 3731-3056. 

More information on the Museum and Congonhas