the most mystical city in Brazil | المدينة الاكثر صوفية في البرازيل

The name of the town was based on a legend of a black slave on the run from the plantation of the powerful Baron of Alfenas. He found a statue of Saint Thomas with a perfectly written letter with superb calligraphy (impossible for an illiterate untrained slave) in a grotto. Greatly amazed by the story the Baron freed the slave and later ordered the construction of a church beside of the grotto in what it is now the centre of São Thomé das Letras.

The Cataguá Indians inhabited the region until the 18th century when they were expelled by the bandeirantes, Portuguese settlers who settled the interior of Brazil.

Construction of the cathedral of São Thomé das Letras began in 1785. It was ultimately decorated with paintings in the Brazil baroque style by Joaquim José da Natividade.

In the 19th century farmers from the region built homes in São Thomé das Letras to use during festival periods, remaining empty the rest of the year