Tomé de Souza... one square, so many beauties

Founded in 1549, it was the first square of Salvador and gathers all the public buildings of that era. This square is  located in the in the city centre of Salvador and is popularly known as Plaza Municipal . It was named after Tomé de Souza, first General Governor of Brazil. This is a place rich in history and currently we can find there the following buildings:



City Hall, Palácio Tomé de Souza

BEFORE

AFTER

Headquarter of Salvador City Council. This building was designed by the architect João Filgueiras Lima (known as Lelé) and its structure is made of  pure steel and glass. 

Something that catches the eye are the architectural characteristics, this building is so different from the nearby buildings .Construction began on May 02, 1986. The metal structure was made in 35 days and the work was completed in just 14 days. Why was that? Because that building was supposed to accommodate City Council on a provisional basis so that it had to be a removable structure. So... this building has 26 years being a only temporary construction! Of course it has gone through several reforms but is currently in use.


Palácio Rio Branco/ Rio Branco Palace 

Former Government of Bahia headquarter and one of the oldest palaces of Brazil. It has had historically several functions, among them, it had been used as crew quarters and even as a prison. You can visit the inside of the Palace through guided tours that are available weekdays Tuesday to Friday at 10 and 16 hrs and on Saturday two visits at 9 and 13 hrs. (Monday off).

If you can not catch this guided tour, you can make the visit by yourself anyway, but you will only have access to the ground floor.



Chamber of the ongressmen/ Câmara dos Vereadores

The Councillors of the city still work in this old building, which already had been used as jail. Ironic isn't it?



Lacerda Elevator/ Elevador Lacerda

It is a public elevator that connects the upper part of the city with the lower part (known as Cidade Baixa and Cidade Alta). This elevator was called popularly Elevador do Parafuso, but in 1896, its was renamed as Elevador Lacerda, in honour of Frederico Augusto de Lacerda, its constructor.
This tourist point is so important that it deserves a mention apart.


For some time here was located the Public Library (Biblioteca Pública) which is the first library that was introduced in Brazil and in South America.
In 1912 it caught fire during a bombardment and the building that housed the library was ruined. By the sixties this building was demolished and transferred to a building in Barris neighborhood.

As all these buildings are concentrated in one place, worth visiting it. There is lots of history between those walls. In addition, remains of road heading to Pelourinho or the Cidade Baixa. This is a truly historic place. In addition, it is located way to Pelourinho or the Cidade Baixa. So there is no excuse, you have to go there during your visit to Salvador city.