Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Portuguese colonial church in Tiradentes, Brazil.
Church of Our Lady of the Rosary is an incomplete 18th century Baroque structure with two bell towers and tall stone walls built on a hillside. The remains show the original foundation plan, side extensions, and massive walls that preserve the architectural legacy of Portuguese colonial design.
Construction started in the 1700s when freed enslaved people gathered funds and worked on the project during their spare time. Work halted due to lack of financial support, leaving the building incomplete with its original vision never fully realized.
The church served as a gathering place for freed Black people and their descendants who assembled regularly and used the building to express their identity through community bonds. The interior layout shows traces of these collective efforts through its humble yet dignified construction choices.
The location sits on a hillside with good visibility from the town and is easily reached on foot. The incomplete walls allow a clear view into the interior layout and the surrounding landscape from above.
The Monumenta program installed lighting that illuminates the stone walls at night and casts shadows showing the building's intended complete design. This nighttime projection reveals in silhouette how the finished structure would have appeared.
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