Bairro do Recife is an island in a city so cut by waterways that it’s called the Venice of Brazil. It was here that the city began, as a small Portuguese colonial port, and buildings from those early years remain.
Begin at the waterfront, on Praça do Arsenal, which has a large bronze plaque in the middle marking the zero kilometer point of the state of Pernambuco. Open to the river on one side, this was the commercial and shipping center of the city. Once badly dilapidated, it is now being restored. A stunning flatiron building is fully restored and on an opposing corner, the pink former stock exchange is being restored by a bank.
The Old Jewish Quarter
Walk up Avenida Barbosa Lima a block and turn onto the tree-lined Rua Bom Jesus. During the Dutch period a thriving Jewish population lived here. They built the synagogue Kahal Zur Israel in 1636, but it was lost with the Jewish expulsion at the time of the Portuguese re-conquest in 1654. Re-discovered in 2000, it is now a museum with its original floor, mikvah and oven visible through glass floors. Multi-lingual panels tell their story. It is believed to be the oldest synagogue in the Americas.
Two streets behind the synagogue lies the Rua Apolo, and the Teatro Apolo. Built in 1842, it has marble features imported from Lisbon, Portugal. The only theater in town when built, it had a short period of success before becoming a sugar warehouse. It was restored in the 1990s and is again the home of live theater.
From Classic and Baroque to Beaux Artes and Art Deco Architecture
Back at Bom Jesus continue on to the tree shaded Praça. The large yellow building at the north end is the Malakoff Tower. Built in 1855 as an observatory, today it functions as a performance center; there are good views from the roof. On the opposite corner is a highly embellished restored Beaux Artes building.
It is worth spending some time in the square. Around it lie a number of small restored buildings dating from the first four centuries of the city’s existence. Brightly colored in blue, red, green and white, they form a colorful backdrop for the activity in the park. This praça is the scene of a major crafts market every Sunday -- so large that it extends down the length of Rua Bom Jesus.
One of the fascinating things about walking in old Recife is the richness of its five-century architectural heritage. Look for the simple clean lines of colonial, the advent of baroque and rococo curves, the subtle introduction of naturalism in Art Nouveau, flashy exuberance of Beaux Artes and simpler geometrical exteriors of Art Deco and early modernism.
Near the other end of Rua Bom Jesus lie the exposed ruins of an arch and dike built by the Dutch as part of a drainage project. Closer to the other end of the island, Forte de Brum was started by the Portuguese in 1629 and finished by the Dutch. A four-pointed Vauban style stronghold, it today houses a military museum.
Art and Crafts Worthy of Shopping
At the other end of the island facing Sao Antonio is the Paço Alfándega. It started life as a convent in 1826 before becoming a Customs House. Its exterior retained, inside it is a modern multi-storied shopping center whose architect has skillfully retained many old features. From its fourth floor roof patio there are beautiful views over San Antonio, Boa Vista and the sea. If it’s crafts you are after head over to Bairro Santo Antonio to the Casa de Cultura on Rua Floriano Peixoto. It was built in 1850 as a prison and converted into a cultural center in 1976. Today its cells are filled with locally made items from clothing to works of art.
American Airlines has recently established new routes to Brazil that operate through Miami with direct connections to Recife.
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