Museo do Círio

From the discovery of a tiny statue of Mary in a riverbank in 1700, to idiosyncrasies of the massive procession of today, the handsome new Círio Museum breaks down Belém’s famous religious festival, the Círio de Nazaré. There’s the story of how, in 1855, a rope was used to steady the statue’s carriage, and has since become an integral part of the march, with the faithful jostling for a chance to pull or touch it. The rope was banned by the church for being ‘unsanctified,’ then brought back by public demand. It’s grown along with the festival – at last measure, it was 400m long and weighed over a thousand pounds. Explanations are in Portuguese only.