Igreja de São José

Once a home of the regional tax collector, this colonial baroque structure served as a jail for revolutionaries in the late 18th century.

Built in 1785 with slave labor. Slaves were forbidden to worship at any other church. The church has a unique shape, with a contour formed by three convergent ovals.

Completed in the 1898, this church took a whopping 94 years to complete. Inside are Aleijadinho's sculpture of the saint after which it is named, as well as a life-size sculpture of the Last Supper.

The oldest church in the city was designed by one of Aleijadinho's mentors and completed in 1731 to replace the original main church. Despite the rather stark outward appearance, the interior glistens with almost 1000 pounds (450 kg) of gold and almost 900 pounds (400 kg) of silver. The basement of the church holds the Museum of Sacred Art.

This museum has a collection of paintings by Alberto da Veiga Guignard, an influential painter who lived his last years in the town.