World Heritage Identification Number: 309
World Heritage since: 1985
Category: Cultural Heritage
WHE Type: Historic Cities & Urban Areas
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil
Continent: Americas
UNESCO World Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
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The Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia: A Blend of Cultures and Architectural Marvels
The Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia, located in the western part of the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, stands as a testament to the rich cultural history and architectural prowess that defines this vibrant region. Officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985, the centre, also known as the Pelourinho or Pelo, offers visitors a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the blend of European, African, and Amerindian influences that have shaped the city over time.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
As the first capital of Brazil, from 1549 to 1763, Salvador de Bahia witnessed the blending of European, African and Amerindian cultures. It was also, from 1558, the first slave market in the New World, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations. The city has managed to preserve many outstanding Renaissance buildings. A special feature of the old town are the brightly coloured houses, often decorated with fine stucco-work.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (iv): Salvador de Bahia is an eminent example of Renaissance urban structuring adapted to a colonial site having an upper city of a defensive, administrative and residential nature which overlooks the lower city where commercial activities revolve around the port. The density of monuments, with Ouro Preto (included on the World Heritage List in 1980), makes it the colonial city par excellence in the Brazilian northeast.
Criterion (vi): Salvador de Bahia is one of the major points of convergence of European, African and American Indian cultures of the 16th to 18th centuries. Its founding and historic role as capital of Brazil quite naturally associate it with the theme of world exploration already illustrated by the inclusion on the World Heritage List of the Old Havana (1982), Angra do Heroismo (1983), San Juan de Puerto Rico (1983), and Cartagena (1984).
Encyclopedia Record: Historic Center of Salvador
The Historic Center (US) or Centre (UK) of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, also known as the Pelourinho or Pelo, is a historic neighborhood in western Salvador, Bahia. It was the city's center during the Portuguese colonial period and was named for the whipping post in its central plaza where enslaved people from Africa were publicly beaten as punishment for alleged infractions. The Historic Center is extremely rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries.Additional Site Details
Area: 200 hectares
Number of Components: 1
(vi) — Directly associated with events or living traditions
Coordinates: -12.972917 , -38.512981
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© Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
