The Historical and Archaeological Circuit for the Celebration of African Heritage was created by City Hall in 2012 and brings together just six points of interest.
One of these was highly criticised: the Hanging Gardens of Valongo, inaugurated by the mayor Pereira Passos (1902-1906) in an extensive project which brought together the old wharf of Valongo and the memory of the biggest slave port of the Americas. In the last year of his mandate, Passos inaugurated, at the lowest point of Conceicao hill, the Hanging Gardens of Valongo, about 100 metres of the old wharf. He followed to the letter the model of transformation adopted in Paris at the end of the 19th century, which wiped out any sign of the past.
“The Garden was something done under European influences, exactly with the purpose of hiding the significance of Valongo Wharf. This should be explained to visitors,” said historian Martha Abreu. At the location, there is no mention of the fact that, where the garden is now, there were points of sale of slaves, and later, coffee and other products.
City Hall’s circuit also includes Valongo Wharf, the Cemetery of New Blacks, Pedra do Sal, the Jose Bonifacio Cultural Centre and Largo do Deposito.