São Thomé das Letras is located at the peak of a stone mountain, embedded in the Serra da Mantiqueira, 1,444 meters above sea level. The sky is very blue and the city is surrounded by a valley, where magnificent caves, waterfalls, endless caverns, and slopes are hidden.
Traveling through Três Corações, accessed by a fully paved road, the silver-white of the stones reminds one of snow-covered mountains. Coming from Baependí, along the Old Road of the Royal Road, one can glimpse the natural wall of the guardian stones, reminiscent of the City of the Incas.
The History
The legend that gave rise to the entire history of the city of São Thomé das Letras happened in a cave.
João Antão, a slave from Fazenda Campo Alegre, whose romance with his master’s sister, Captain João Francisco Junqueira, had been discovered, tired of the mistreatment, took refuge in a cave high in the mountains, where he began to live off fishing, fruits, and roots from the region.
One day, a man in white robes appeared to the slave, handing him a note and saying that if he delivered it to the captain, he would be forgiven.
Upon reading the note, the Captain ordered him to take it to the cave, where they found a wooden carving of Saint Thomas.
João Francisco, a deeply religious man, took the carving home. The image disappeared and reappeared in the cave several times.
Believing it to be a miracle, the Captain ordered a chapel to be built on the site, where, in 1785, the Main Church was constructed, thus giving rise to the village; it is said that the Captain’s son, Gabriel Francisco Junqueira, the Baron of Alfenas, a title granted by D. Pedro II, was buried under the church altar.
The church, built in baroque style, houses in its main nave a painting by master Joaquim José da Natividade, rococo-style altars, and several wooden images from the 18th century.
The origin of the city’s name is due to the appearance of the saint and the rock inscriptions found at the entrance of the cave, which it is unknown whether they were made by the Cataguas Indians, ancient inhabitants of the region, or if they are words left by the saint.
The buildings that characterize the city, made from the very stones extracted on-site, carefully cut and stacked one by one, without any type of mortar, offer safety and firmness, like the constructions of the 18th century.
Based on the local economy, which is 60% derived from the extraction of quartzite stones, used in the coating of houses, sidewalks, pools, and now exported to several countries in Europe, the city became known as the stone city.
Legends, stories, and initiatory precepts create an esoteric atmosphere in the city, making it known as the mystical city of Brazil.
Due to this strange fascination that the city exerts on visitors, São Thomé das Letras has been developing tourism over the years. In 1996, it received the tourism potential seal granted by EMBRATUR, officially becoming part of the list of the main tourist cities in Southern Minas, also belonging to the largest tourism project ever carried out in Minas Gerais, the Royal Road.
Distinguished by the exotic beauty of its stones, rich in waterfalls, old mansions, mysteries, apparitions, trails, and mountains, the city offers many good options for you to enjoy.
Source: visitesaothome.com.br