Mariana

Mariana was founded in 1696 and was the first town, first capital and first bishopric of Minas Gerais, which is why it has a cathedral - the Se, holding an Arp Schnitger organ built in Hamburg in 1701 and shipped over as a gift from the Portuguese crown, one of very few surviving instruments by that maker anywhere and played at recitals through the week. On the Praca Minas Gerais the Sao Francisco and Carmo churches stand side by side facing the old town hall and pillory. The Mina da Passagem nearby descends by cable car into a gold working. In 2015 the Fundao tailings dam upstream collapsed, destroying the district of Bento Rodrigues and killing nineteen people in what remains Brazil's worst environmental disaster.

What you actually see

• A 1701 Arp Schnitger organ - Hamburg-built, in the cathedral, still played.
• Two churches on one square - Sao Francisco and Carmo facing the pillory.
• The first capital of Minas - founded 1696, ahead of Ouro Preto.
• Mina da Passagem - a gold mine descended by cable car.

When to go

April to September. A day, checking the organ recital times.

Honest expectations

Organ recitals run at fixed times on set days and the cathedral is otherwise closed to visitors during services. Cobbles are steep. The town is quieter and less restored than Ouro Preto. The mine visit is cold and wet.

Nearby

Ouro Preto is twelve kilometres west; Caraca is north-east.