Comments: This is the city of Aleijadinho's birth, Ouro Preto. It was founded in 1698, when rich deposits of gold were found nearby. In 1720, Ouro Preto was established as the capital of the new Portuguese colonial province of Minas Gerais (General Mines). In 1980, it was the first Brazilian city to be named on the list of UNESCO's Patrimônio Histórico e Cultural da Humanidade (Cultural Patrimony of Humanity Sites). In the 21st century its population is about 70,000. The big church on the right center of this photograph is the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, which was made famous by Aleijadinho's Neoclassical architecture and Baroque sculpture.