João Monlevade

João Monlevade brings together a range of themes for a trip: a municipal nature park, the history of the steel industry in Minas Gerais, local culture, and markets held on set days. When choosing your destination, consider whether you are especially interested in nature, historic sites or local markets. These highlights give your trip to João Monlevade its own character.

Areão Natural Area

The Parque Natural Municipal do Areão is located within the city limits. It covers 199,309.28 square meters and preserves ecosystems of great ecological importance. The park is also home to diverse fauna and flora. This makes it a clearly identified natural area that is part of the city’s character. If you are interested in wildlife, plant life and the preservation of ecologically important ecosystems, Areão offers a fitting focus for exploring João Monlevade. Nature is clearly distinct from the industrial history and cultural traditions that also belong to the area.

Industrial history and cultural heritage

The Museu Monlevade do Ferro e Aço documents the beginnings of the steel industry in Minas Gerais. Its focus therefore extends beyond the history of a single place and turns attention to the industrial development of the state. Fazenda Solar de Monlevade offers a different historical connection. The historic fazenda was the first residence of João Monlevade, one of the city’s founders. If you are interested in the origins of the area, you can consider this history alongside industrial history as a separate aspect.

The Matriz São José Operário is considered João Monlevade’s most important landmark. The Hotel Cassino is also part of the city’s cultural heritage: the city administration designated it a protected heritage site because of its cultural significance to João Monlevade. The Marujos tradition adds intangible cultural heritage to these architectural and historical themes. In 2010, the Associação Cultural Marujos de João Monlevade was recognized as an intangible cultural asset of the municipality. It was previously known as Guarda de Marujos de Nossa Senhora do Rosário. Together, these examples show different facets of local history and culture, from the city’s founding and a landmark to a recognized cultural association.

Local markets and market days

The traditional Feira da Agricultura Familiar takes place in João Monlevade on Saturdays. It offers organic vegetables, organic fruit and organic pulses. If you would like to include local food in your travel plans, Saturday is the day of the week specified for this market. Its focus is explicitly on agricultural products, setting it apart from the Feira da Economia Popular Solidária.

This second feira takes place on the second weekend of every month, on both Friday and Saturday. It features performances by local artists, handicrafts, typical foods and clothing. The two markets therefore have different schedules and focuses: one takes place on Saturdays and offers organic produce; the other brings together a range of cultural and handicraft offerings over two days of the second weekend. If visiting a market is important to you, take these different market days into account when planning your trip.

Choose the right focus for your stay

More places in the same broader area: Três Pontas, Jaboticatubas, Viçosa, Capitólio, São Sebastião Do Oeste, Santo Antônio Do Aventureiro, Santana Dos Montes, Lavras.

For the broader travel overview: Minas Gerais.