Ouro Preto is located high up in the remote, misty mountains of the Serra do Espinhaço at an altitude of 1,000 metres. Formerly known as Vila Rica, the town was – for a while – capital of the state of Minas Gerais, and was the first Brazilian city to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. Its name (black gold) comes from the curious black metal that was found in 1693 by the Bandeirantes (explorers from São Paulo, who were looking for indians to capture) – which turned out to be alluvial gold mixed with iron ore. The resulting wealth and prosperity brought a flowering of the arts and the advent of the great painter Manuel da Costa Athaíde, and renowned sculptor Antônio Francisco Lisboa, known as Aleijadinho.

Ouro Preto now constitutes the largest homogeneous collection of Baroque art in the world, its masterpieces including the churches of São Francisco de Assis (1771) and Nossa Senhora do Pilar (1730), one of Minas Gerais’s most exuberant temples. In 1789 the town was the site of a violent revolt (the Inconfidência Mineira) against the Portuguese, caused by unpopular taxes on gold. The tour includes visits to the Museu da Inconfidência (one of Brazil’s most important museums) and the church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário (1785), an excellent example of the colonial Baroque period in Minas Gerais.