LARGO DO PELOURINHO - PRAÇA JOSÉ DE ALENCAR

The Largo do Pelourinho (Praça José de Alencar) is a large, triangular, sloping square in the heart of the oldest part of the city of Salvador. It is considered the focal point of the old city centre and takes its name from the Portuguese word pelourinho, meaning pillory, and referring to the post to which recalcitrant slaves were once tied and tortured in the eyes of all. It is a square with a high symbolic value, but also an architectural one, since it contains the beautiful blue façade of the house-museum of Jorge Amado and the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, known for its masses celebrated to the sound of candomblé. A postcard of the Pelourinho district, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is a must for visitors to Salvador. For the anecdote, it is also here that a big part of the clip of Michael Jackson They Do not Care About Us was shot in 1996. The largo do Pelourinho and the adjacent streets are paved with "pé de moleque", cobblestones polished by time (high heels not recommended). All around the square there is a beautiful group of Portuguese baroque buildings.

It is customary to have one's photo taken in this square, often in front of the Jorge Amado Foundation, as it naturally captures the spirit of all those who walk in Salvador de Bahia. Batucadas (Afro-Brazilian percussion groups) often cross this square on their way from their rehearsal rooms to their performance rooms.