A “nova” Cidade Velha: arquiteturas e percepções no entorno do centro histórico de Belém, Pará

Abstract

The Cidade Velha neighborhood, which gave rise to the city of Belém, is commonly related to the “old” due to its history and the fact that it shelters buildings and sites of interest to preservation. However, there is a section of the neighborhood that compounds the surroundings of the Historic Center of Belém and that can be considered as the "new" Cidade Velha for having characteristics that differ from the “patrimonial” Cidade Velha, as an occupation that relates to a period after the foundation of the initial nucleus and the fact that, above all, the renovation architectures, which in its place a new construction is allowed by the law, predominate in there. Thus, motivated by the fact that the author and researcher is a resident of the neighborhood, the main objective of the dissertation is to analyze the "new" Cidade Velha and understand how the materiality that refers to the existing architecture and the different perceptions that the individuals have about this area contribute to construct the identity of an area located within a neighborhood in which the predicate “old” usually defines it as a whole. The present research also addresses the themes of the search for a regionality and rescue of Amazonian roots and the relationship of individuals with architectural heritage, which implies the existence of particular memories and values attributed to places and buildings in the neighborhood. Through the ethnographic method, especially the variant of street ethnography, it was possible to establish a dialogue with residents and visitors of the area. In addition, the dialogue with heritage agents also contributed to the final result of the research, which intends to highlight an understudied area of that continues to be transformed, contributing to make Cidade Velha a unique and complex neighborhood.