Penedo - Alagoas - Brasil

Brazil / Alagoas / Penedo /
 city, municipality

The site of the historic town of Penedo has been occupied by the Portuguese (and briefly the Dutch) since the earliest days of colonisation in the 16th and early 17th centuries.

Historically an important crossing point and trading centre on the lower reaches of the River São Francisco, the town lost some of its earlier strategic importance when a road and rail bridge was finally built across the river at Propriá, around 30 kms upstream from Penedo, some decades ago.

Today the town is a quiet regional centre which is well worth a visit to enjoy the architectural richness of its central area which preserves many houses, and public and religious buildings from its long and often prosperous past. The collection of large family houses in an eclectic variety of styles from the first half of the 20th century is especially splendid.

Well worth a visit.

Penedo is a municipality in the state of Alagoas in Brazil. Its population was 59,968 (2005) and its area is 689 km²[1].

Founded in 1614, Penedo lies 173 km from the state capital of Maceió. Penedo has many important examples of Portuguese and Dutch colonial architectures, as well as beautiful landscapes. Among its historically significant buildings are its well preserved churches, which were built through the 18th century. Some of these include:

Convento de São Francisco e Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Anjos
(Convent of Saint Francis and Church of Our Lady of the Angels)
Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Corrente
(Church of Our Lady of the Chains)
Catedral de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Penedo.
(Cathedral of Our Lady of the Black People's Rosary)
The Casa do Penedo, established in 1992, has as its objective the preservation of the city's artistic and cultural patrimony. In the Casa do Penedo one can find a rich quantity of five centuries of creativity by residents of the São Francisco River Valley.

A good history of Penedo can be found in Francisco Alberto Sales's book Arruando para o Forte.


See also
Penedo (itatiaia), a touristic district of Itatiaia. A former Finnish colony.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   10°13'53"S   36°29'52"W

Comments

  • I lived in Penedo in 1962. I was then working for an American consultant company. I was the first costumer in the Hotel San Franscisco which was owned by the Peixotos (I wonder if Roberto still live in Penedos ?) I used to cross the Rio San Francisco back and forth every day to work at the textile plant across the river. I was in Penedo two weeks per month and I loved it. My email is mchapleau@sympatico.ca
  • TERRA DE PUTA é incrivel so tem mulher vagabunda pensse num interior de mulher interesseira? penedo
This article was last modified 12 years ago