The Historic Center of Caxias do Sul (Portuguese: Centro Histórico de Caxias do Sul) is a Special Sector of the city contemplated in its General Plan and regulated by specific legislation. It comprises the region that was first urbanized, located around the Dante Alighieri square and limited by the streets Os 18 do Forte, Bento Gonçalves, Alfredo Chaves, and Moreira César. The Historic Center has been the vital core of Caxias do Sul since its origin and has undergone profound changes since the early days, but it still preserves its original urban layout and a number of buildings of great architectural and historical interest. However, it has suffered from frequent traffic jams and the degradation of some stretches.
History
Origins
The present Historic Center of Caxias do Sul began its formation together with the city itself. Conceived as a colony, Caxias was part of a project of the Imperial Government that aimed to populate empty spaces, form a non-slave labor force and whiten the Brazilian population; to this end, European settlers were chosen. The colony was founded in 1875 with a headquarters in Nova Milano, through the occupation of vacant land, attracting large waves of foreigners, mainly Italians.Giron, Loraine Slomp. “O Corpo Estranho: imigrantes italianos e escravos”. In: Suliani, Antônio (org.). Etnias & Carisma: poliantéia em homenagem a Rovílio Costa. EdiPUCRS, 2001, pp. 647-652
In 1876 the headquarters of the colony was transferred to the Historic Center region, organized around a broad space, later named Dante Alighieri Square, where the Mother Church was built. The area chosen was crossed by ancient indigenous routes and, at one point, there was a large open field with water sources that was called Campo dos Bugres by the explorers who had previously traveled this region. At the time of Caxias' foundation, Campo dos Bugres was being used as a resting place for muleteers who traveled between Campos de Cima da Serra, where cowsheds were flourishing, and São Sebastião do Caí, the main commercial warehouse in the center of the state and a mandatory stop for immigrants. In the highlands, the idea was to create a rural colony with a small urban administrative headquarters. The intention was that the main urbanization of this region would occur where Flores da Cunha is today, but it ended up being concentrated around the center of Caxias do Sul, which grew fast and established itself as an important commercial warehouse, helping to supply the neighboring colonies. Through its area, most of the regional production flowed to São Sebastião, which had a fluvial port where the connection with the markets in the capital and center of the state was made.Buchebuan, Terezinha de Oliveira. "Caxias do Sul: entre o regional e o local ". In: Anais do XVII Encontro Nacional da Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Planejamento Urbano e Regional. São Paulo, 22-26/05/2017
After some abandoned projects, on January 10, 1879, the Board of the Land and Population Commission approved a plan by Luiz Manoel de Azevedo for the urban center, idealized according to the Roman grid, where a layout of straight streets cross each other perpendicularly forming a chessboard. By this time, several houses and businesses had been built in the center, creating a low-rise settlement, but with the implementation of the official route many of these early buildings were demolished. Soon the so-called Rua Grande (English: Big Street), today Júlio de Castilhos Avenue, appeared as the spine of the emerging settlement. By 1884 the straightening of the main streets had been completed. In this same year the colony was transformed into a district of São Sebastião do Caí.
The administrative change was unpopular. The settlers had to travel almost 60 km to the municipal seat to pay their taxes and communicate with the authorities, losing a week of work due to the very poor roads. After long negotiations with the state government and demonstrations of having grown enough to be able to govern itself, the district was emancipated in 1890, becoming the Village of Santa Teresa de Caxias, placed under the direction of a Governing Board. The board organized the new municipality, serving as an executive as well as a legislative body, granting the first laws: a Posture Code, the Internal Rules and the Organic Law. These laws defined the rules of public administration and delimited the scope of powers, but when it comes to the Historic Center the board should be remembered for establishing the first norms for urbanization and building in the center.
At this time, almost all buildings were made of wood, with few examples in masonry. Even large industrial pavilions were built in wood, with the araucaria being the most used, as it was abundant in the region at the time. The paving of the center would take a long time. Until Colonel José Pena de Moraes took office, the center would have had dirt roads with gravel, and only a few streets with paved sidewalks. The main focus in the first decades was the organization of the Dante Square and Rua Grande, where works for the flattening and lowering of the land began, a process delayed and complicated by the existence of a large quarry in the area.Bisol, Letícia Eloisa. "As formas e suas relações do espaço arquitetônico: um estudo de Caxias do Sul". In: XX Encontro de Jovens Pèsquisadores. Caxias do Sul, Cidade Universitária, October 23–25, 2012
Urbanization in the area developed along original lines that were the result of the creation of a new culture in the colonial region that incorporated the cultural heritage of the immigrants and revealed their adaptation to the specific resources and uses of the Luso-Brazilian tradition. In general, the settlers were skilled at building in stone, but did not know the national woods, whose properties took some decades to learn, master, and apply this knowledge to a vernacular style typified by the single-family house of one or two floors, often used as a business on the first floor and residence on the second floor. Overall, these spacious and comfortable buildings, although quite rustic, could have ornamental details in balconies, wainscoting, and window frames.
Consolidation and growth
Despite its precarious urban planning, in the beginning of the 20th century the center had 3 thousand residents, with 426 single-story houses and 76 two-story houses, including those with commercial use. The center, more than a housing area, became the main economic, political and religious center of the colony, with its main public events and festivities taking place around the Dante Square. By 1900 the old Mother Church had been replaced by an imposing new masonry building, and there were a number of commercial houses, workshops, manufactures, and 36 industries in activity. In a few years industrial buildings would multiply their presence in the central region.
A leap in growth was made between 1909 and 1910 with the consolidation of the passage to Campos de Cima da Serra through the construction of the Korff Bridge and with the arrival of the railroad in the city, which linked Caxias directly to Porto Alegre and bypassed the neighboring municipalities of São Sebastião do Caí. The opening of these roads gave a great boost to commercial development. On the same day the train arrived, the village was elevated to the status of city. At this time Caxias already had an expressive agricultural and wine production, the industry was diversifying fast, and the city was getting ready to increase even more its old role of dynamic commercial warehouse, becoming one of the main economies of the state. Therefore, the expectations of the former administrators of the state, who saw in colonization a salvation for the decline of the charque culture, that made Rio Grande do Sul rich in the 19th century, were fulfilled.Machado, Maria Abel. “Empresários na busca do poder político: acordos e conflitos. Caxias do Sul, 1894-1935”. In: Primeiras Jornadas de História Regional Comparada. Porto Alegre, 23-25/08/2000
Due to the accelerated economic growth, a colonial elite of wealthy merchants and industrialists proud of their accomplishments soon formed, who began to foster a cosmopolitan erudite culture, but still heavily dependent on Italian culture.Beneduzzi, Luis Fernando. “Festa da Uva e política fascista: narrativa de operosidade e resgate de italianidade”. In: Anais do XXVI Simpósio Nacional de História – ANPUH. São Paulo, July 2011 In the first decades of the 20th century, newspapers, theaters, literary, artistic, political, social, sports and charitable associations appeared, and this flourishing was accompanied by an architectural and urban renewal in the center. Streets begin to be paved, Dante Square takes on its classical form, and changes in building regulations begin to prohibit wood construction and encourage masonry. A series of elegant palatial homes began to occupy the center, and sumptuous buildings were erected to house banks, large business houses, and the main clubs and associations. In this process, the lower classes are being pushed out of the center, and soon the industries would also be pushed out, and speculation began.Wiggers, Monica Marlise; Kormann, Tanice Cristina & Robaina, Luis Eduardo de Souza. “Evolução da ocupação urbana de Caxias do Sul e os assentamentos subnormais”. In: Anais do XVI Encontro Nacional dos Geógrafos: Crise, práxis e autonomia: espaços de resistência e de esperanças: espaço de diálogos e práticas. Porto Alegre, July 25–31, 2010
In 1949, the rather disorderly growth of the urban area imposed the enactment of the first General Plan, establishing new guidelines for sanitation, alignments, distances, construction aesthetics, and other aspects. At this time the center began to be verticalized. In a short time the General Plan became obsolete, requiring successive reformulations in the 1950s and 1970s to adapt to the intense population swelling that the city was experiencing due to the arrival of the residents from the countryside and other parts of Brazil, attracted by the wealth of Caxias. However, while progress was advancing at a rapid pace, the colonial, art nouveau, eclectic and déco architecture of the center was being destroyed at the same speed.Marchioro, Juarez & Calcagno, Nelson Vásquez. “Crescimento da cidade e legislação urbanística”. In: Giron, Loraine Slomp & Nascimento, Roberto Revelino Fogaça do. Caxias Centenária. Caxias do Sul: EdUCS, 2000, pp. 69-115
In Marchioro & Calcagno's analysis, from the 1940s to the present, the General Plans promoted several advances, but showed many flaws and contradictions, revealing a lack of long-term planning. Furthermore, its application has been difficult and controversial, favoring the densification of the center and accentuating the depopulation of the rural area. These problems have not prevented the Historic Center from remaining the most dynamic area of the city to this day. On the other hand, this interval also evidenced a profound urban crisis, since the primitive urban plan with its narrow streets was maintained. In the last decades the number of vehicles circulating has exceeded the traffic capacity of these streets, the main public transportation lines in the urban area have started to pass through the center, and traffic jams have become daily. Lately there has been also the degradation of some streets and the increase in the rates of violence, drug dealing and prostitution, problems that have been generating continuous complaints from the population.
Preservation