Cataguases is best explored through its modern architecture and the artworks that form part of the city’s history. Its collection of works from 1940 to 1960 includes pieces by Oscar Niemeyer and other leading architects and artists of the period. For a culturally focused stay, this is a clear starting point: architecture, visual art, film history and literary history offer different perspectives on the place.
Modern Architecture and Architectural Art
One striking building is the Santuário de Santa Rita de Cássia. Dating from 1968, it is shaped like an airplane, and its façade bears a tile mural by the painter Djanira da Motta e Silva. The area surrounding the sanctuary is protected as cultural heritage by Iphan. Its date of construction, unusual form and façade mural provide several concrete points of reference for understanding the architecture and art of this place.
The Educandário Dom Silvério can also be explored through precisely identified details: its tiled façade dates to 1954 and is designed in the modernist style. The building also houses “A Criação do Mundo,” a mural created by Emeric Marcier in 1956. The façade design and the artwork are two distinct aspects of the building. Those interested in architecture can also turn their attention to the artistic works associated with its buildings.
Film, Literature and Public Space
Cataguases’ cultural history extends beyond its buildings. Humberto Mauro, a pioneer of Brazilian cinema, lived in Cataguases from 1910 onward. Its literary history includes the Movimento Verde, a literary movement that gave rise to the modernist Revista Verde. Film and literature thus offer a different approach from façades and architectural forms: they can complement a focus on architectural history with cultural biographies and a literary movement.
A present-day public space adds to these historical points of reference: following its revitalization, Praça Manoel Inácio Peixoto is once again a place for meeting, community life, culture and remembrance. The square is protected; its renovation preserves its historical and architectural identity as well as its defining features. Its renewed role as a public space thus sits alongside the importance of preservation and heritage conservation.
Events and Travel Planning
Events also add their own cultural highlights. Festival Modernista has established itself as an art, culture and music event held as part of the celebrations marking Cataguases’ anniversary; a 2025 report confirms this description. A 2025 municipal report describes special dishes prepared by local food businesses and served to the public at Festival Conversa de Botequim. The festival is included in Cataguases’ events calendar and is considered established. This brings together a broad arts and culture program and a culinary event. Check the dates before planning your trip around a festival.
Road designations also provide a practical guide for planning your journey: BR-120, MG-285 – Rodovia Valdir Freitas – and MG-447 – Rodovia Ataúfo Alves – run through Cataguases. Check road conditions before setting out.
Minas Gerais in a Broader Context
For broader travel planning, it is also worth looking at the state of Minas Gerais as a whole. There, 94 protected areas safeguard almost two million hectares across the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and Caatinga biomes; tourism is established in 17 nature parks. The craft of bell ringers and the artisanal production of Minas cheese are also recognized as Brazilian cultural heritage. Nature, crafts and gastronomy are statewide points of reference in Minas Gerais; Cataguases’ local cultural highlights, by contrast, are modern architecture and its art, film and literary history.
Discover more destinations: Cataguases, Santa Maria do SuaçuĂ, Buritis, Brumadinho, Fronteira, Mato Verde, Centralina, Moeda.
For the main travel overview: Minas Gerais.
