Old Areas: Protection and Conservation for the Evaluation of the Cultural Landscape of Muriaé, Brazil

Abstract

The paper highlights the importance of the protection and conservation the old areas of the City of Muriaé - Minas Gerais, for the enhancement of its Artistic, Cultural, and Landscape Heritage. The rapid urban growth and lack of planning directly impact the preservation of pre-existences, especially in terms of architectural, landscape and cultural heritage. The analysis is structured based on the system of open spaces with environmental (Muriaé River) and cultural (Hastenreiter, Cel Pacheco, João Pinheiro, and Rosário squares) importance, all of them with recognized heritage value. The analysis involves their surroundings in terms of morphology, functionality, and demographics. The extensive data collection has been synthesized in maps and the proposal aims to identify in the different landscapes, old buildings that are not protected by existing laws, presenting strategies capable to demonstrate their importance to increase the visibility to the city’s historic central area and reinforcing its different identities.