Praça Gonçalves Dias, Heritage square in São Luís, Brazil.

Praça Gonçalves Dias is a public square in São Luís that develops on several levels because of the natural slope of the terrain, linked by staircases, some flanked by masonry railings. A statue of the poet Gonçalves Dias stands at its centre, and a circular bandstand on the right offers one of the few shaded spots, since palms dominate the square. From its elevated position it gives a panoramic view of Avenida Beira-Mar and the Anil River.

The square grew around the Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, which gave it the popular name Largo dos Remédios, also recorded as Largo dos Amores in Aluísio Azevedo's novel O Mulato. After the poet Gonçalves Dias died in 1864, Antônio Henriques Leal organized committees to raise a statue; its foundation stone was laid on 10 August 1872 and it was inaugurated on 7 September 1873. Since 1955 the square and its surroundings have been listed by IPHAN.

The square carries two popular names recorded in Aluísio Azevedo's novel O Mulato: Largo dos Amores, for the couples who met here, and Largo dos Remédios, after the church facing it. The church is Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, not a Gothic building. Palms dominate the square, recalled in Gonçalves Dias's poem Canção do Exílio ("Minha terra tem palmeiras").

Stairs connect this square down to the lower Praça Maria Aragão, making it easy to move between both spaces. The area is full of colonial charm, so it helps to take time for a leisurely walk and to observe the historic buildings around you.

The adjacent Cristo Rei Palace houses the rectory of the Federal University of Maranhão and holds historical collections from the institution. This building weaves the city's academic life into its colonial past.