Este post também está disponível em:
Português 
English
Gonçalves Dias Square was inaugurated in 1873 and is located on land belonging to the Order of São Francisco, on a promontory facing the Anil River that allows a view of the São Francisco Bridge and the neighbourhood of the same name.
It is home to the Church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios with its exuberant Gothic architecture and the statue of Maranhão’s greatest poet Gonçalves Dias.
The square was once called Largo dos Remédios and Praça Gonçalves Dias, but the lovers definitively baptised it Largo dos Amores. The latter, under the inspiration of the poet, find in its gardens an appropriate place for their passions.
Gonçalves Dias Square, located in the upper Remédios neighbourhood, not only offers a beautiful view of the sunset over São Marcos Bay, with the mouth of the Anil River (which cuts through part of the city and whose source is almost completely preserved), but is also famous for being a meeting place for lovers in São Luís, which gave it the title Largo dos Amores.
Nothing more appropriate for the place that bears the name of one of the state’s greatest poets, who once extolled his homeland on the other side of the continent and died in love with a certain Ana Amélia, whom he asked to marry him, but her family, due to the writer’s mestizo ancestry, vehemently refuted the request.
In honour of the poet, a monument with a statue of him was erected on the site.
In the Square, there are still many palm trees and a bandstand, where some artistic performances on feast days and festivities of the Remedios Church are held.
Video “Gonçalves Dias Square in São Luís do Maranhão”
Praça Gonçalves Dias em São Luís
The church is located in front of the square. The only Gothic-style church in the capital of Maranhão was built as a chapel in 1719.
A long staircase connects the square to another very important place in the capital, Praça Maria Aragão.
Around the square there are also other monuments that make the place even more beautiful. Colonial mansions such as the Cristo Rei Palace is one of them, built in 1877.
It is currently the headquarters of the Rectory of the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), which has a historical collection from the early days of the institution that can be visited.
Its first owners belonged to a traditional Maranhão family who later donated it to the clergy, becoming the first headquarters of the Diocese of the capital of Maranhão, later housing the old Faculty of Philosophy.
Benedito Leite Square would be the Botanical Garden of the City.
How to get to Gonçalves Dias Square
Gonçalves Dias Square – Largo dos Amores
Where: Remédios neighbourhood, at the end of Rua Rio Branco.
How to get there: Almost all buses in the city pass in front of or near the square. Get off at the last bus stop on Rua Rio Branco (exclusive for some lines), or at the Maria Aragão stop. In the latter case, go up the staircase that connects the two places.
Tourism and Travel Guide to São Luís do Maranhão
