Longe ou perto da terra natal? Frades alemães em missão no Brasil: arquitetura e vida urbana (1891-1960)

Abstract

Travels, itinerancy and meeting of cultures are closely related to the theme of this thesis. It comprises German friars who left their homeland from the end of the 19th century, and took the role of restoring the Franciscan Order in Brazil, which was facing a process of decay, a decline in the number of friars and the closing of its friaries that were built in the colonial centuries. Besides reoccupying and carrying out restorative interventions in these historic buildings, anticipating the future role of the heritage protection institutions, the Franciscans of Germany built new churches and friaries in Brazil that reflect their own mentality and their conceptions regarding architectural spaces. Their buildings have a great impact on the landscapes of the cities they are settled, located in the northeastern southeastern and south parts of the country and have become visual and cultural urban references in their regions. The research was based on an empirical approach that aimed to have a close contact with the architectural and urban spaces, considered here as nonverbal documents. Field trips were made to 35 Franciscan friaries located in nine Brazilian states and in Germany, throughout the author's academic trajectory and involvement as a member of the Research Group Studies of Landscape. The fieldwork also allowed the collection of a series of primary sources such as manuscripts, books, documents, photos, paintings, interviews with friars and other sources related to the memory of these religious, that also supported this research. The work of the German friars in Brazil had a broad impact on the architecture and urban life of the cities, but it was also linked to several conflicts and an uneasy meeting with the Brazilian spatiality, population, and culture, that were converted into actions and interventions that often displayed an imposing behavior, and a limited dialogue with the local reality. However, at other times, we see glimpses of a possible dialogue when we consider the last decades of the proposed time frame, and we find friars who study and are interested in Brazilian culture. Between conflicts and cultural interests, we qualify this legacy as a shared cultural heritage that is an example of the cultural relationships between Brazil and Germany.