O caminho das pedras: o ofício da cantaria no Recife oitocentista (1837–1850).

Abstract

The subject of this research is stonemasonry in Recife, Brazil, in the first half of the 19th century. During the term of Francisco do Rego Barros (1837–1844), then president of the province of Pernambuco, the city went through intense material transformations to take on the resemblance of European metropolises. This change took place mainly in the construction of public buildings, which usually made use of imported stones. Our hypothesis, later confirmed by the analysis of the available data, is that stone imports mark the apogee and decline of stonemasonry in Recife between 1837 and 1850. The objective of this research, thus, is to understand how this process came about. Therefore, resorting to Ginzburg & Poni (1989) as our main theoretical and methodological framework, we examined stone import records published by Diario de Pernambuco and Diario Novo and mapped the links between cargo consignees. Furthermore, we delved into the confrontations involving stonemasonry during the construction of the Teatro de Santa Isabel (1841-1850), the most prominent landmark in the modernization of Recife. Designed both to the layman public and to experts of several fields of study — especially History, Tourism, and Architecture — the final product of this research is a homonymous printed book.