Sobre prédios e pessoas: história e cripto-história do patrimônio edificado da Universidade Federal do Pará

Abstract

The Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) was established on July 2, 1957, when debates on respect, preservation, and conservation of cultural heritage, although still in their preliminary stages, had already made considerable progress. At that time, the University consisted of seven faculties, each bringing its head offices to the newly created institution, some of them with a substantial history in the city of Belém, such as the mansions of the Law and Medicine faculties. In the early 1960s, UFPA experienced a period of expansion in its built structure, involving the construction of buildings and acquisition of properties, including small palaces from the belle époque, culminating in the establishment of its Campus in 1968. In the 1980’s, due to the “interiorização policy” (the movement to rural areas or towns far from the capital) and Brazilian redemocratization, the University became multicampi and expanded its activities and presence in other cities throughout the state of Pará. Divided into sociopolitical periods, this research recounts a bit of the history of UFPA’s built heritage in Belém and discusses the University’s role on heritage conservation and preservation policies, considering Vitor Serrão’s studies on the concept of cryptohistory. This work also reveals the individuals’ perceptions and experiences regarding the buildings that are, or were, part of this pathway, even though adapted for other uses or vanished from the city’s urban landscape, due to either abandonment or the unyielding locomotive of modernity.