Às margens do Rio Tapajós: investigação cultural e memorial do patrimônio histórico-arquitetônico de Santarém - PA

Abstract

The preservation of historic buildings allows a memorial synthesis of lived history as well as transmits facts in its structures and contributes to the creative and cultural sense of future generations. The conservation of these buildings makes the collective memory always present and gives to society a sense of belonging to that place. The place where the research was carried out is the historic Centre of Santarém, a city located in the west of the State of Pará. It was founded in the 17th century on the banks of the Tapajós River just at the encounter with the Amazon River. The scientific question that guided our research was: Are the reconstitution of the social memory and the carrying out of the inventory necessary contributions to the preservation and safeguard of the built heritage assets? On consideration to this question, we adopted as main objective the discussion of the Santarem individual's relationship with cultural heritage from the understanding of individual memory. In addition, the specific objectives were: a) to identify the historical, architectural and cultural heritage in the area locus of the research; b) to analyse how Santarém society develops its practices of preservation of its architectural heritage; c) rescue memories by building the history of the built heritage of the historic Centre of Santarém; and d) inventory of selected buildings from the point of view of the interviewees. The research has a predominantly qualitative nature and approached in the form of narratives and oral history, whose choice is justified by the possibility of a collective reading of local history, and how the built heritage manifests this history. The proposal is to achieve a greater understanding of the architectural history of the geographical area that was the object of our study. We also propose a documentary and inventory corpus of local historical heritage that contributes to the knowledge of the architectural heritage of Santarém and the Amazon region. It enables reflections on the need for its preservation in the city of Santarém. The sample recorded in the narratives of local residents confirmed that the identity and sense of belonging of each one is intrinsically linked to affective memory and experience related to places and heritage assets. The report of these transformations brings to light the feeling of loss and sadness for the destruction of material goods and the mischaracterization of the historic Centre of Santarém. According to the interviewees, mischaracterization is directly related to the lack of care by local authorities, but also by the citizens themselves. The interviewees considered important the maintenance of the heritage because they relate it directly with the identity of each one (individually) and with the maintenance of the history of the city (collectively). Maintaining heritage and adapting it to urban development and growth is possible as long as there is a sustainable organization with legal instruments, environmental education as well as the involvement and commitment of society as a whole.