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Olinda - UNESCO World Heritage Site...
 
Olinda is considered to be the birthblace of Brazilian nationality, mother of the Republic! In 1537 Duarte Coelho Pereira who had been granted the Pernambuco Captaincy declared from the top of the hill.
"Oh linda situação para uma Vila"
What a beautiful place to build a city.
This is the fabled origin of the city name Olinda.During the XVI Century Olinda was the most prosperous city in Brazil, entirely through the plantations of ¨white gold¨ (sugar).
Ironically Olindas success eventually led to its decline, due partly to a bitter rivalry which developed betwwen the aristocratic plantation owners, and the traders and workers in nearby Recife, notwithstanding that culturally they were different, as Olinda was built by the Portuguese and Recife by the Dutch. It is fair to say that at that time Pernambuco was a hotbed of Republicanism and revolutionary agitators which led to Pernambuco becoming a Brazilian Republic in 1891.
   
Olinda is noted for its 16th and 17th
century ornate churches and colonial buildings, which is partly why it is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Amazingly, Olinda maintains an unique charm and is nor surprisingly home to a colony of some 7000 artists, essentially Olinda is a living museum, the delicate balance between the colonial buildings, baroque churches, convents and chapels give Olinda an unrivalled atmoshere, an ambience you wont get anywhere else in Brazil.
Olinda has many fine restaurants, and you can purchase or eat locally caught seafood at virtually any time of day or night.
Olinda has many, many delights for the visitor, and a particular mention has to be given to the Olinda Carnaval. Of course Brazil is world renowned for its annual Carnaval events.
Most of the worlds media are guilty of displaying the fabulous images of Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro and its resident samba schools. But when Brazilians want to party, when they want to experience an authentic carnaval , they come to Olinda, and to a lesser extent Recife. It takes a whole year for Brazilians to prepare for Carnaval, and the Olinda version is certainly worth waiting for....
Don't forget, if you volunteer with us in Brazil, you can stay in Olinda accommodation and work on a project in Recife. Olinda and Recife merge, and although there is a distinct political and cultural border between them - it's increasingly reduced - besides, it is only a tad over 5 miles from the centre of one to the other - Got a question? Drop us a line! |
