The Political Constitution of the Empire, promulgated on March 25, 1824, established the General Councils of the Provinces. In Pernambuco, the General Council was installed in a mansion located in the Fort of Matos, an old fortress built by Antônio Fernandes de Matos, located in the neighborhood of Recife.
On December 1st, 1829, the then president of the Province, Tomás Xavier Garcia de Almeida, solemnly installed the Council.
In 1832, the General Councils of the provinces were replaced by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, and that of Pernambuco was installed in Recife, on April 1st, 1835.
In its first legislature, from 1835 to 1837, the Provincial Legislative Assembly of Pernambuco consisted of 36 deputies, including some prominent figures in the history of the state, such as Gervásio Pires Ferreira, a republican of the Revolution of 1817, Father Miguel do Sacramento Lopes Gama, director and sole editor of the newspaper O Carapuceiro; Bento José da Costa, one of the founding partners of the water supply company of Recife, known as Companhia do Beberibe; Pedro Francisco de Paula Cavalcanti, the Viscount of Camaragibe.
The Assembly was for many years radicated in the old building of the General Council, in the Fort of Matos. In 1866, the construction of a new building for the Palace of the Provincial Assembly was authorized, but this did not happen.
Only in 1870, through Provincial Law No. 963, of July 25, the project was approved and contracted, for the amount of 189:013$996 réis. Its author was the Recife engineer José Tibúrcio Pereira de Magalhães (1831-1896) and the works were carried out by José Inácio D'Ávila.
The place chosen for the new building, built between the second half of 1870 and 1874, was Rua da Aurora, on the banks of the Capibaribe River and near the Pernambuco Gymnasium.
In classical Doric style, according to the architectural standard for public buildings of the time, the Assembly was inaugurated on March 1st, 1875, but the work was only definitively delivered on January 20, 1876.
Despite having undergone some renovations, the exterior of the building remained with all the characteristics of the construction inaugurated in 1875.
The origin of the gates, gradis and balconies of the Assembly is unknown. They may have been imported from Europe or manufactured in Pernambuco. Large part of the old furniture was preserved.
From 1948, by appointment of Deputy Tabosa de Almeida, the building was renamed as the Palace of Joaquim Nabuco.
Currently,the Assembly is composed of a Plenary, consisting of elected deputies and sworn in the exercise of the mandates; a Directing Board, responsible for the direction of legislative work, formed by seven members (president, 1st and 2nd vice presidents, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th secretaries); the Standing Committees, to discuss matters of interest to the population and hold public hearings and the Temporary Committees, which operate at certain periods and also have the objective of discussing with society problems of their day-to-day.
Recife, April 18, 2005.
sources consulted
ASSEMBLÉIA Legislativa do Estado de Pernambuco. Recife: Assembléia Legislativa, 1999. 72 p. il.
________. Disponível em: <http://www.alepe.pe.gov.br>. Acesso em: 13 abr. 2005.
SOUSA, Alberto. Assembléia Legislativa. In: ______. O classicismo arquitetônico no Recife imperial.João Pessoa: UFPB, Ed. Universitária; Salvador: Fundação João Fernandes da Cunha, 2000. p. 172-184.
how to quote this text
GASPAR, Lúcia.Legislative Assembly of Pernambuco. In: PESQUISA Escolar. Recife: Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, 2009. Available from: https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/pt-br/artigo/assembleia-legislativa-de-pernambuco/. Access on: Month. day, year. (Ex.: Aug. 6, 2021.)