Located 519 km north of
Rio de Janeiro,
Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was founded at the end of the 17th century and the main focal point of all
the period called "the golden age of Brazil".
Originally called Vila Rica, it was a simple mountain village
receiving “Bandeirantes” on their search for slaves
coming from the Atlantic coast.
Close to Vila Rica they found
a strange black stone and sent pieces of it to Portugal. It
returned the confirmation that they found gold. The black
color was originated by iron oxide in the soil.
From there on, thousand of soldiers of fortune came to Ouro Preto eager
to enrich themselves by exploiting the gold deposits.
