Ruins of the Jesuit - Guaranis Missions of São Miguel Arcanjo: An Overview on the UNESCO World Heritage in Brazil

Resumo

The study deals with the Jesuit-Guarani Missions of São Miguel Arcanjo, located in Brazil, more precisely in the Rio Grande do Sul state, as National Heritage protected by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) and recognised as World Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), its relation with the others Jesuit reductions in the region and also as a tourist attraction. Initially, the dimensions of a site are contextualised as heritage of humanity, as a tangible property built or natural, linking it to others items related in the World Heritage List that are located in the Brazilian scene. Subsequently, it is offered a clipping about the Jesuit Missions on the continent, whose existence is usually estimated at 30 missions. These indigenous reductions, presented as an achievement of Jesuit missionaries in the context of the Catholic Church´s Counter-Reformation, happen at Spanish America territory, although social and architecturally materialise in places that currently belong to the countries of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The research unfolds specifically on the missions located in Brazil, in the study of documents with asset recognition and bibliographic theoretical references. However, an analysis in loco enables recognition as a tourist attraction. The objective in research is to strengthen the intention of appropriation of an identity as reference of the gaucho people and of the Brazilian nation itself.