Entre a preservação e o progresso: o palimpsesto urbano na formação da paisagem de São João del- Rei/ MG

Abstract

The research proposed in this dissertation had the objective of verifying the urban forms evolution of São João del-Rei/MG caused by changes that have occurred over the years, since the urban form is a product of the political, social and economic actions that promote uniqueness to the urban landscape. The city of São João del-Rei appears in the Brazilian colonial period as one of the main mining centers founded in the XVIII century in the context of Gold Cycle in Minas Gerais. Due to its importance in the colonial period of Minas Gerais, it was the first city inscribed in the Book of Belas Artes do Instituto de Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN) in 1938. As headquarters of the Rio das Mortes District, São João del-Rei was a privileged point in the Caminho Velho, attracting and concentrating investments. Contrary to what occurred in other Minas Gerais towns of colonial period, there was no stagnation of its development as an immediate consequence of the decline of gold production due to its regional importance as the headquarters of the Rio das Mortes and as a mercantile producer of foodstuffs. The region continued to develop allowing the construction of the Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas (EFOM) in 1881, a fundamental link between the south of Minas and the capital of the empire. The construction of the railway reduced distances, reducing costs and strengthening the local economy, spreading ideals of modernization in the interior, especially the urban reforms carried out in Belle Époque at the end of XIX century. In this way, the economic development of São João del-Rei over time has promoted changes in the urban form of the historical center of the city, and can be understood as the result of a dynamic process of economic, cultural and urban evolution. Therefore, in order to investigate the development of the urban fabric of the historical center of São João del-Rei, the methodological procedures contained in the concepts of the English School of Urban Morphology, as well as the concept of the urban palimpsest, urban structure is constituted by the overlapping of layers that have structured over time. As a hypothesis, it sought to understand the uniqueness of the urban fabrics, as well as the urban landscape of São João del-Rei as Dropped Aggregate by IPHAN, in contrast to the of other colonial cities registered by the Institute in Minas Gerais. The aim was to analyze urban evolution to recognize the qualities and values intrinsic to its form, with the purpose of understanding the current composition that represent the unique characteristics of the formation of the urban landscape of this set in 2018. In this way, it can contribute to its maintenance in order to preserve or build it, ensuring its uniqueness and strengthening the issue of belonging through the consolidation of local identity.