The Arado’s Farm Site, its heritage and cultural significance for Porto Alegre city and region (state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)

Abstract

This article focus on the importance of the ancient Arado’s Farm, located in Belém Novo neighborhood, South of Porto Alegre city, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, as a cultural heritage site to be protected for the city and the state. The proposal is based on interdisciplinary studies carried out by the City’s Cultural Department work group (SMC) about the rural zone of the municipality, between 2010 and 2016. The ancient farm is threatened by the intention to build a residential condominium with negative impact on the rural zone characteristics. Archaeological studies for environmental license and researches of SMC work group showed up different cultural heritage on site, resulting in federal and local protections by law. At the same time, community and environmental movements as well as  judicial acts intended to preserve the area, meanwhile the owners tried to approve and build the enterprise with attempts to change the law. The pioneer research about the rural zone of Porto Alegre found significant heritages and exceeded its goals by discovering Arado’s Farm and rural area potentialities.