Editing Paraty (section)

== Architecture ==
Paraty is known for the [[cobblestone]]-paved streets throughout the Historic Center District. No cars or trucks are allowed in this part of town, only foot traffic or bicycles. Motor vehicles are only allowed in the Historic District on Wednesdays for deliveries. Horses and carts are a very common sight in Paraty and are frequently used all around the city.

Paraty has been able to maintain many of its historic buildings. Much of the architecture of the city has not changed for 250 years or more.

=== Churches ===
There are four<!-- seven are listed here --> important historic [[baroque]] churches in Paraty:

==== Chapel of Saint Rita ====
Capela de Santa Rita is the oldest church in Paraty. It was completed in 1722. This was the church of the freed slaves and freeman, former slaves. It is currently home to the Museum of Sacred Art.

==== Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário e São Benedito ====
This church was built and used by Paraty's African slaves. It dates back to the year 1725. The church has a much simpler, more rustic style than the other three churches in Paraty. Every year in the first week of December the festivities of São Benedito are held in this church.

==== Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Dores ====
This chapel dates back to 1800. It was used mostly by the rich women of society. Construction was overseen by the presiding priest, Father Antonio Xavier da Silva Braga. The building was later renovated in 1901. The image of Nossa Senhora da Piedade was stolen from this chapel. It was finally recovered in the 1990s, and now can be seen at the Museum of Sacred Art in the Capela de Santa Rita.

==== Church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios ====
Igreja Matriz Nossa Senhora dos Remédios is the largest church in Paraty. It takes up over an entire city block. Its construction began in 1646 when a woman named Maria Jácome de Melo donated the land for the construction of the village of Paraty, however she demanded two conditions: The first was the building of a chapel dedicated to Nossa Senhora dos Remédios and the second was that no one would harm the Indians that lived in the area at that time. The church was completed in 1873.

<gallery>
Image:Capela de Santa Rita 1.jpg|Capela de Santa Rita
Image:Paraty-_church-_Igreja _de_Nossa_Senhora_do _Rosário _e_São_Benedito_cropped.jpg|Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e São Benedito
Image:Capela de Nossa Senhora das Dores - Paraty.jpg|Capela de Nossa Senhora das Dores
Image:Paraty- church- Igreja Matriz da Nossa Senhora dos Remédios_cropped.jpg|Igreja Matriz da Nossa Senhora dos Remédios
</gallery>

==== Chapel of the Generosa ====
[[File:Capela_da_Generosa.jpg|thumb|left|Capela da Generosa]]
Additionally, there is a very small chapel called Capela da Generosa which according to legend, was constructed in 1901 by the order of a generous female patron, in memory of Teodoro. Teodoro supposedly drowned in the river Perequê-Açu when he tried to fish on Good Friday, a day on which according to tradition it was not recommended to fish.

==== Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição ====
[[File:Paraty mirim- igreja2.jpg|thumb|Capela Nossa Senhora da Conceição]]
There are also historical churches in two nearby small villages, Paraty Mirim and Penha.

Paraty-Mirim (Little Paraty) is the site of first chapel built by settlers in the region around Paraty (1686). At the time of its construction Paraty-Mirim an important commercial center and thriving village. Today however, all that remains there are the church itself and a scattering private homes. Although in recent years the tourist trade has grown there due to the pristine beaches in the area and Paraty-Mirim now has a few small inns, a couple of restaurant/bars and offers boat tours.

==== Church of Nossa Senhora da Penha ====
[[File:gold trail-penha church on the gold trail_cropped.jpg|thumb|Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Penha]]
This church is unique in that it was built on top of a huge boulder in the small hamlet of Penha, just outside Paraty. The church is located directly across from the Tourist Information Center at the trail-head of the Caminho do Ouro.

=== Forts ===
There are two [[Colonialism|colonial]] [[forts]] in Paraty: Forte Defensor and Forte Patitiba.

==== Forte Defensor ====
Forte Defensor was built in 1703 and outfitted with six cannons for the protection of the city's important commercial warehouses. With the aforementioned economic decline of the region, it was in ruins until 1822, when it was reconstructed and dedicated to Emperor [[Dom Pedro I]]. Some historians believe that it was at the fort that the first nucleus of the town began, in that the area around the fort is still referred to as the "Old Village."

Ruins of the old defensive stone walls together with the cannons can still be seen today. It is also home to a powder house for storing explosives – one of the few still existing in Brazil. Forte Defensor is one of seven fortifications that were built around the harbor of Paraty, two of them being in the city. All of the others that were constructed outside the city are now only ruins.

<gallery>
Image:Paraty_fort.jpg|Forte Defensor
Image:Paraty_cannons.jpg| Cannons at Forte Defensor
</gallery>

==== Forte Patitiba [Cadeia Antiga] ====
[[File:Paraty_Biblioteca.jpg|thumb|Forte Patitiba]]

What is left of this fort, also known as ''Cadeia Antiga'' (the Old Jail), is a smallish structure which for a while was also used as a prison. It is found in the plaza of Santa Rita, next to the church of same name. Constructed in the beginning of the 18th century, the building was part of a larger Forte Patitiba, the other blockhouse built in the city for defense of the harbor. In the 19th century it was decommissioned and today it houses the local public library.

There are also many colorful colonial houses (refurbished in most cases), many of which have been transformed into shops, ''pousadas'' (Brazilian bed-and-breakfasts), restaurants and bars.

=== Flooded Streets ===
Once a month when there is a [[full moon]] and the tide is high, seawater rises above its normal levels and pours into the Historic Center District through special openings in the [[seawall]]s that separate the city from the harbor. The streets are only flooded for a short time until the tide recedes. The water is usually only {{convert|6|to|10|in|cm}} deep, and a few merchants near the seawall put out small bridges to span the flooded streets for the benefit of pedestrians. This routine flooding is supposed to help clean the cobblestone streets.<ref>{{Cite conference |last1=Miguez |first1=Marcelo Gomez |last2=Tardin-Coelho |first2=Raquel |last3=Verol |first3=Aline |last4=Battemarco |first4=Bruna Peres |title="Water Dynamics as a Preceding Driver for Risk Prevention and Urban Planning Guidelines" |conference=13th Conference on sustainable development of energy, water and environment systems |year=2018 |location=Palermo |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333430047_Water_Dynamics_as_a_Preceding_Driver_for_Risk_Prevention_and_Urban_Planning_Guidelines}}</ref>

<gallery>
Image:Paraty_floodhole_dry.jpg|Dry Flood-hole
Image:Paraty_floodhole.jpg| Flood by incoming tide
Image:Paraty_flooded_2.jpg| Flooding street
Image:Paraty_flooded_1.jpg| Another flooding street
</gallery>