Santo Amaro (Neighborhood, Recife)

The Santo Amaro neighborhood had its origins in 1681, when Major Luís do Rego Barros built, on the ruins of the Salinas Fort, a chapel under the call of Santo Amaro das Salinas. Santo Amaro is the patron saint who lent his name to the neighborhood.

Historian Pereira da Costa claims the ruins of the fort could still be seen in 1816. A Dutch stronghold, the fort was taken by Pernambucan forces on January 15 (Santo Amaro Day), 1654.

In the 19th century, the chapel, along with the Cruz do Patrão (Master’s Cross), served as reference for the sailing maneuvers of those who arrived at the Recife Port.

In the past, a feast was held, in the second half of January, in front of the chapel to honor Saint Amaro. It featured fireworks, street games, quermesses (from the Dutch “kermesse” - church mass - typically held by churches in the beginning of June), typical foods, and novenas.

In 1814, the Cemitério dos Ingleses (British Cemetery), the first of the city, would be built in the neighborhood, on land the province government gave to the English consul. In March 1869, General Abreu e Lima, martyr of the Pernambucan revolt of 1817, was buried there.

Also located in the neighborhood is the Cemitério de Santo Amaro (Saint Amaro’s Cemetery), whose construction began during the government of Francisco do Rego Barros, the Conde da Boa Vista, and was inaugurated on March 1, 1851, under the name Cemitério do Bom Jesus da Redenção de Santo Amaro das Salinas (Cemetery of the Good Jesus of the Redemption of Saint Amaro of Salinas). Its chapel, completed in 1855, was designed by the engineer Mamede Ferreira.

Two important arterial roads of Recife are also in Santo Amaro: Av. Norte and Av. Cruz Cabugá.

The General Abreu e Lima square is on Av. Cruz Cabugá, next to the Cemitério dos Ingleses, featuring a large statue of Santo Amaro by the sculptor Corbiniano Lins.

Also on Cruz Cabugá are the Santo Amaro Market, built under the administration of Mayor Antônio de Góes Cavalcanti and inaugurated on June 11, 1933; the Frei Caneca Palace, built to serve as a dispatch site of the Pernambuco government (1967) and, further north, the Santo Amaro Hospital, project of the engineer José Tibúrcio Pereira Magalhães, a neoclassical building built between 1872 and 1892 meant to be the Asilo de Mendicidade (Mendicity Asylum).

The 13 de Maio Park, the first historic urban park of Recife, inaugurated in 1939, is one of the expressive sites of the neighborhood, in addition to important public buildings such as the State Public Library, the City Council, and the Legislative Assembly.

The Santo Amaro neighborhood is connected to Recife by the Limoeiro bridge, over the Beberibe River, on which you can admire beautiful views of the city.

Recife, February 2, 2006.

sources consulted

CAVALCANTI, Carlos Bezerra. O Recife e seus bairros. Recife: Câmara Municipal, 1998.

FRANCA, Rubem. Monumentos do Recife: estátuas e bustos, igrejas e prédios, lápides, placas e incrições históricas do Recife. Recife: Governo de Pernambucop, Secretaria de Educação e Cultura, 1977.

PERFIL Municipal: histórico e evolução urbana. Recife: URB/DPU/DEP, 1989.

how to quote this text

GASPAR, Lúcia. Santo Amaro (Neighborhood, Recife). In: PESQUISA Escolar. Recife: Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, 2006. Available at: https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/en/artigo/santo-amaro-neighborhood-recife/. Accessed on: month day year. (Ex: Aug. 6 2020.)