SCRIPT INFORMATION

 

Departing at 10am from the CENTRAL DE PASSEIOS, we continue for 17km to Fazenda Santa Clara where we conduct a guided tour with one of the guides of the Farm, it is approximately 1h30m, we visit the entire interior of the Farm, halls, dungeon, chapel and we finish in a tasting of liquors and sweets.

 

We walked for 500mts to Santa Clara Waterfall (with sand beach and great for bathing and showering).

 

After the waterfalls, it's time to head to Restaurante do Duque, from where we have a beautiful view of Fazenda Santa Clara in the background, in addition to, of course, great Minas Gerais food. We return to the City.

 

INVESTMENT PER PERSON

 

Guide R$ 20 per person (minimum 5 people or R$ 100).

Farm visitation fee R$ 20

Self-service lunch with barbecue and dessert R$ 45

 

NOTE: This tour requires its own transport.

 

DO NOT FORGET

 

Wear closed and comfortable walking shoes and take bathing suits to enjoy the inviting waterfalls with crystal clear waters.

​

Also take sunscreen and your camera to keep the memories of that tour.

 

 

A LITTLE FARM HISTORY

 

Imponence is the word that defines Fazenda Santa Clara. Built between 1760 and 1780, it was the most important farm owned by Commander Francisco Tereziano Fortes, the farm served for a long time for the reproduction of slaves in the colonial period.

 

The Bustamante Fortes Family arrived in the region from São João Del Rey, and established the banks of the Rio Preto, having a prominent role in the history and development of the region.

 

Captain Francisco Dionísio de Sousa Fortes Bustamante (father of Francisco Tereziano), a bureaucrat of the Portuguese crown, had a lot of influence and one therefore obtained from the crown a large expanse of land on the banks of the Rio Preto.

 

Still in life, the Captain dismembered his property and handed over the land to the administration of his children and to people he trusted.

 

The building has a colonial style, from the 18th century, and has impressive numbers. The property has 6,000 m² of built area, 52 rooms (one for each week of the year), 12 lounges (one for each month) and 365 windows (one for each day of the year), of which 365 are false, some were painted on the outside of the slave quarters to hide the fact that the farm was used to reproduce slaves at a time when there was already a ban on the slave trade in Brazil.

​

After an unsuccessful mortgage the ban on the sale of slaves, the Farm fell into decline, but still retains all the atmosphere of the time. It is impossible not to be thrilled when visiting this place.

 

After the mortgage, the farm was sold to Colonel João Honório de Paula Motta and it is still managed by his descendants today.

 

Upon arriving at the farm, we can hear stories from the time when the farm was at its peak, the day-to-day lives of those who lived there, the rules, curiosities and the “stories” of the region.

​

Its interior still conserves the furniture and objects of the period, as well as the chapel of the farm that deserves an important highlight for its details and the fresco of Santa Clara painted on the chapel ceiling.

 

The farm was also the stage for the filming of the 1989 Abolição miniseries and the 1999 soap opera Terra Nostra, the setting for the Gumercindo farm, a character by Antônio Fagundes.

 

Recently the farm was listed by the State Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage of Minas Gerais (IEPHA) due to its importance in the history of the region and of Colonial Brazil.

 

A tip to enjoy the visit is to get carried away by the atmosphere of the farm and relive a little of the history of our Brazil.

 

 

 

Sources:

 

NOGUEIRA. Laudelina Marinho, A cidade das Cachoeiras: Santa Rita de Jacutinga e sua história. 2a.ed. rev. e ampliada. (Santa Rita de Jacutinga, edição particular, 1985).

 

CARTA MENSAL - COLÉGIO BRASILEIRO DE GENEALOGIA, ANO XV - N° 67 - NOV/DEZ 2002, coordenador: Nelson V. Pamplona.  Disponível em:  http://www.cbg.org.br/cartamensal/CM67.pdf . Acessado em 29/10/2014.

 

PERDA DO PRESERVACIONISMO DE UMA DAS MAIORES FAZENDAS HISTÓRICAS DO BRASIL, por Pamella Chicarino. Disponível em: http://panchicarino.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/perda-do-preservacionismo-de-uma-das-maiores-fazendas-historicas-do-brasil/ . Acessado em 29/10/2014.

 

IEPHA CONCLUI TRÊS PROCESSOS DE TOMBAMENTO - Disponível em: http://www.iepha.mg.gov.br/component/content/article/1-ultimas/1298-iepha-conclui-tres-processos-de-tombamento . Acessado em 29/10/2014.