Penedo: Alagoas's Colonial Baroque Gem on the São Francisco
Penedo — 180 km from Maceió on the São Francisco River — is one of Brazil's finest colonial towns; the baroque churches, the Dutch fort, and the São Francisco riverside create an atmosphere of preserved 17th-century Brazil
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Penedo Historic Center
Penedo's historic center - a grid of colonial streets lined with baroque churches and colorful houses - is remarkably intact; the city's isolation on the São Francisco River preserved it from the developments that destroyed other colonial centers
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Convento de São Francisco de Penedo
The monastery and church complex of Penedo – with its baroque altars, azulejo panels and cloisters – is one of Alagoa's finest religious buildings; the view from the monastery terrace over São Francisco is exceptional
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Dutch fort in Penedo
The ruins of the Dutch fort in Penedo – Forte Maurício, built during the Dutch occupation of northeastern Brazil in the 17th century – document the period when the Netherlands controlled the Brazilian sugar economy
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São Francisco River Boats
The São Francisco River at Penedo is crossed by traditional wooden ferries and navigated by the old vapores river boats; the river traffic and fishing communities along the shore maintain a pre-industrial character
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Penedo Baroque Churches
The city has four Baroque churches in various states of preservation - the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Corrente, the Catedral de Penedo and the Igreja de São Gonçalo Garcia each represent a different phase of colonial religious art
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São Francisco River Festival
Festa do São João on the river São Francisco at Penedo is one of Alagoa's most spectacular June festivals — the river decorated with boats, the fireworks reflected in the water and forró by the river