Local Attractions
The Historic Museum on Mato Grosso's History
Cuiabá was founded by goldseekers in 1719 and has grown into a city where nowadays the main activities consist of agriculture and cattle raising. The city has few authentic buildings from the early days, but some of them have been preserved and restored. They mostly house government institutions.
The museum of history, "El Museu Histórico", is situated in one of these historic buildings, named "Tesouro do Estado". This museum provides information and exhibits on the foundation and colonisation of Mato Grosso through paintings, black and white photographs and paraphernalia of the early days. As in Rondon's Museum, the explanatory panels are in Portuguese only.
Praça da Republica. Opening hours: Mon-Fri from 8-11am / 13-17 pm. Free of charge.
Read more at Suite101: Tourist Attractions in Cuiabá, West Brazil: Visit Cuiabá's Museums and South America's Geodesic Centre http://brazil-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/tourist_attractions_in_cuiab_west_brazil#ixzz0utTeoOdu
Cuiabá's Museum of Sacred Art
Museu de Arte Sacra, the museum of sacred art, is situated adjacent to the twentieth-century Bom Despacho Church. The museum displays gold-embroidered robes and other possessions of its archbishop Dom Arquivo [early 20th century], as well as a selection of holy images.Praça do Seminário. Opening hours: daily 8-11am / 13-17 pm. Free of charge.
Read more at Suite101: Tourist Attractions in Cuiabá, West Brazil: Visit Cuiabá's Museums and South America's Geodesic Centre http://brazil-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/tourist_attractions_in_cuiab_west_brazil#ixzz0utTkPvVz
South America's Geodesic Centre The city has the honour of being located in the geodesic centre of South America as it was calculated by Marechal Rondon in 1909, and is visualised in a tall monument in the Praça Moreira Cabral. In 1979 it was concluded by radar photos that the exact equidistant point between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans in fact lies in National Park Chapada dos Guimarães, thirty-five kilometres as the crow flies or about seventy kilometres by road north of Cuiabá.
Read more at Suite101: Tourist Attractions in Cuiabá, West Brazil: Visit Cuiabá's Museums and South America's Geodesic Centre http://brazil-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/tourist_attractions_in_cuiab_west_brazil#ixzz0utTvflLS
