Discover Uberaba

Igreja Santa Rita and Parque Fernando Costa are located in Uberaba; Peirópolis is a rural district 25 km from Uberaba. The destinations therefore differ both in what they offer and in where they are located. This distinction is useful when planning your trip and deciding which visits should be the focus of your stay.

Church Architecture and Sacred Art

Igreja Santa Rita was built in 1854 at the site where the settlement of the city began. It is therefore connected with an early period in the city’s history and was listed as a heritage site by the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional in 1939. Today, the church houses the Museu de Arte Sacra (MAS). Its collection includes Baroque pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries. For visitors who want to consider a building in relation to how it is used, three layers come together at this site: the beginning of the settlement, the history of the church, and the MAS collection of sacred art.

The dates refer to different things: 1854 is the year the church was built, 1939 the year it was listed as a heritage site; the Baroque pieces in the collection date from the 18th and 19th centuries. This distinction helps place the building’s history, heritage protection, and art collection within their own historical periods.

Park Architecture and Museu do Zebu

Parque Fernando Costa offers a different perspective on Uberaba. Buildings in a range of architectural styles define the park, with styles from the 1940s particularly prominent. Notable monuments add to the setting. The park is also home to the Museu do Zebu “Edilson Lamartine Mendes,” which offers guided visits and interactive exhibitions. In contrast with Igreja Santa Rita, the park brings together architecture and monuments with a museum experience that includes guided visits and interactive displays.

Paleontology in Peirópolis

Peirópolis is a distinct focus for paleontology. The Uberaba UNESCO Global Geopark highlights the Geossítio Peirópolis, the Museu dos Dinossauros, and the L.I. Price Paleontology Research Center. The Museu dos Dinossauros has three musealized areas in Peirópolis, including an open-air exhibition. Trained interpreters are available to provide explanations and answer questions. The Geossítio is notable for thousands of fossils dated to between 80 and 66 million years ago. This offers several points of interest for paleontology: the Geossítio and its fossils, several musealized areas, and a research center. Peirópolis is a rural district 25 km from Uberaba, so this area of interest is geographically distinct from the attractions in Uberaba itself.

When planning your trip, you can first consider whether you are more interested in sacred art and city history, park architecture and the Museu do Zebu, or fossils and paleontology. These topics differ both in content and in where they are located. This can help you decide on the focus of your stay before looking for hotels in Uberaba.

Discover more destinations: Guanhães, Santa Luzia, São Francisco, Carrancas, Ituiutaba, Paracatu, Unaí, Itanhandu

For the broader travel overview: Minas Gerais.