Pedro II State School

The school group Dom Pedro II received this denomination in homage to the second emperor of Brazil. It was created in December 1925 (by decree number 7,044) and was inaugurated in September 1926. It is located on the triangular terrain between streets Padre Rolim, Rio Grande do Norte and Avenida Alfredo Balena (old Mantiqueira Avenue) streets, Santa Efigênia neighborhood, with entrance of the latter. The staircase is made of granite and the two sets are separated by a ramp of mosaics of two-colored stones, also present on the sidewalk.

Driven by the nationalist movement, in vogue since 1914, the architect Carlos Santos projected the building in the neo-baroque style, in opposition to what predominated in the city, the eclecticism. The project sought to adapt to the taste and desire of the state president of the time, Fernando Mello Vianna, adept of the nationalist movement, and was based on the colonial traditions of Minas Gerais and Portuguese. It is an architecture in the Baroque-Rococo style, with soapstone covers, the work of the artist José Bahia, typical frontons of the colonial churches of Minas Gerais, and tiles and courtyards of Portuguese and Moorish inspiration.

The building of two pavements had, on the second floor, twelve classrooms, in addition to other units necessary for the operation of the school. Contouring the internal area, a wide gallery with arches supported by Solomonic columns, railings in lattice and floor in hydraulic brick. At the ends, the marble stairs give access to the lower floor, also composed of halls and galleries, but open to the interior courtyard. On the upper floor, at the lateral angles, doors open onto balconies, under pergolas, which allow, through the granite stairs, access to the lawn of the garden, where water flows from fountains with figureheads, two sculptures authored by the artist Moreira Junior, representing “progress” and “instruction”, borders the main entrance. All the facades have windows in full arches and Solomonic columns with Ionic chapiters, as well as the columns of the internal galleries.

In the party room, which divides the interior courtyard into the middle, there was a panel on the ceiling painted in oil by the artist Aníbal Mattos. Around 1953, this panel was lost due to damage to the roof of the building. The furniture was produced by the brothers Tunes and followed the style of Dom João V. The triangular party of the building, probably derived from the use of the land, was surrounded by gardens, but was characterized by the expansion of recreational spaces, construction of walls, fences and gates.

The decree of registration in the Public Patrimony of the Dom Pedro II State School, by the State Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage of Minas Gerais, was issued on February 15, 1982.