Antônio Prado

Antônio Prado is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It contains the most important ensemble of architecture built by Italian immigrants in Brazil. And it’s a major eco-tourism destination, with beautiful waterfalls inside the araucaria moist forest. The Italian language (Talian dialect, of Venetian origin), gastronomy and architecture are the most important aspects of Antônio Prado’s culture.

In the town’s Historical Center it is possible to see 48 houses built in wood and masonry. They were landmarked by the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional - IPHAN (The Brazilian National Historical and Artistical Heritage Institute) and serve to prove the care with which they were built, and later preserved by the descendants of those immigrants. But the preservation of the roots of the Italian colonization is not limited to the landmarking of the architectural group. In Antônio Prado, the residents keep the traditions of their ancestors alive, through choral singing, industrial arts, and gastronomy. The natural beauties are also present in that destination, attracting an increasing number of visitors and practisers of adventure sports; who find perfect places for their practice there. Among the most practiced activities in the surroundings of this town, rappel and whitewater rafting are worth mentioning.

ee also

*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul