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To see the rest of Belo Horizonte’s attractions, you need to head about 20 minutes north of the city center to the planned district of Pampulha. There’s public transportation, but we decided on a taxi ride to save time.
History of Pampulha
The project was a collaboration between Oscar Niemeyer and landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, and is considered one of the world’s most important modernist architectural projects. The area was built in the 1940s around an artificial lake, Pampulha Lagoon (Lagoa da Pampulha), and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016.
Church of St. Francis of Assisi
The most important piece of the complex, the Church of St. Francis of Assisi (Igreja de São Francisco de Assis), was designed by Niemeyer and is considered Pampulha’s crowning masterpiece. Built in 1943, the design was so controversial the Catholic Church refused to consecrate it until 1959. The church is beautifully decorated with blue and white tile mosaics on the exterior.
Estádio Mineirão
Estádio Mineirão, opened in 1965, is at the southern end of the lake. It held games for the 2014 World Cup and is the home of Brazilian club Cruzeiro.
What Else?
Other notable buildings around the lake are the Casa do Baile and the Iate Tênis Clube. If you’re lucky you’ll see a family of capybaras.
