São Gonçalo do Amarante is located in Rio Grande do Norte as an important gateway to religious and cultural tourism in the state. This destination receives domestic and international flights, providing many opportunities to attract tourists who disembark, or those who will board the return flight.
The destination is poised to become a pole of religious and cultural tourism in Rio Grande do Norte. In São Gonçalo do Amarante is the memorial erected in 2002, in honor of the holy martyrs of Cunhaú and Uruaçu, martyrs from Brazil.
The population of the municipality is estimated at 104,919, according to the latest estimates of the International Statistics Institute (2021).
The Martyrs’ Monument is a major tourist attraction in the city, receiving about 30,000 pilgrims annually, including martyrs’ ceremonies in October.
The destination is located at a strategic point in a geographical way, 22 km from Natal and the main beaches of the capital, Potiguar.
Another point of interest is that the city is home to Aloisio Alves International Airport, the state’s main airport, which received a total of 1,466 domestic flights in August alone, as well as 73 international flights, for a total of 1,539. And it received 198375 passengers on a domestic flight, and 5873 passengers on an international flight, with a total of 204,248 passengers, according to statistical information on the Natal Airport website. (https://www.natal.aero/br/o-aeroporto/dados-operacionais/estatisticas/?a=2022&m=8)
With this said, the destination is a specific roadmap for deployment to receiving agencies and missions, as well as an approach for tourists at the airport, at the time of boarding and disembarkation.
It will be an opportunity for external and internal agencies to put this destination of great importance for religious and cultural tourism in Brazil on their routes. São Gonçalo do Amarante, was the place chosen by the Catholic Church and Pope São João Paulo II, to commemorate the martyrs in Brazil – Santos Martires de Cunhao and Uruaço.
On the 3rd of October, a public holiday marking the memory of the martyrs, the city welcomed thousands of believers. Currently, the pilgrimage has been more from the state of Rio Grande do Norte, and from the northeastern region.
With work on the announcement of the destination to be carried out by City Hall, through the Secretariat for Economic Development and Tourism, by 2023 the number of annual visits was expected to triple.
Only this year, the destination has already received journalists from Qual Viagem e Turismo SA, visited by two tour operators, Trielotur and Patagonia Experience.
Gastronomy, culture and religiosity:
In the kitchen of São Gonçalo do Amarante, there are typical traditional dishes such as shrimp, free-range chicken, dried meat, roast lamb, pochada, stuffed tapioca and many other crustaceans. In the rural area of the municipality there are gastronomy reference communities in the metropolitan area of Natal: Uruaçu and Pajuçara, which are sparsely populated, but have many establishments where shrimp with mush is the most consumed. Dish.
The stronghold of São Gonçalo do Amarante is Camarão, two dining centers that stand out: Pajuçara and Uruaçu.
The place has bars and restaurants where shrimp is the most requested delicacy. When visiting the Pajuçara community, you’ll be delighted with authentic shrimp in garlic and oil (with or without shell), shrimp fillet with coconut broth, shrimp or gratin, crabmeat, free-range chicken, fish, stuffed tapioca, and meat. sol na nata, mutton, oyster broth and sororo and also the most requested dish, prawn pirao.
Dishes are served in portions for snacks with tapioca or cassava accompanying and the meal with green beans, white rice, cassava, farova salad and vinegar, varying according to the menu.
Espaço Sao – Colonial Café
The cradle of Rio Grande do Norte’s popular culture, São Gonçalo do Amarante/RN has a collaborative space to appreciate artists and the city’s history. The store, colonial café and cooperative space “São”, which refers to the name of the city and its patron, São Bendeto, was born through a partnership between the municipality, Sebra and the Diocese of São Gonçalo.
The installation of the space in the IPHAN-listed bicentennial building, Igreja Matriz de São Gonçalo, is a significant difference, making it the first city in Brazil to offer this type of activity in one of the municipality’s major historical monuments. The store preserves the existing items, without damaging its architecture. The site was listed in 1963, and the store opened on January 15, 2020.
“São” contains handicrafts produced by 32 artisans from São Gonçal. Additionally, the space aims to salvage and preserve the city’s historical and cultural legacy. Gastronomy and an exhibition of exclusive works are part of the project.
The opening of the store is one of the works of the “Lugares de Charme” project, under development in the municipality since 2019, in partnership with the Municipal Secretariat for Economic Development and Tourism.
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