The History of the Ruins
Before it was a ruin, Paricatuba was a lodging house, a school, a prison and a hospital. Its history runs through the rubber economy, European immigration to the Amazon and one of the most silenced chapters of Brazilian public health: the compulsory isolation of people with leprosy. Telling this story is also an act of memory and of respect for those who lived through each of these phases.
Timeline
- 1898
The lodging house opens
The building we know today as the Paricatuba Ruins opens. Originally built to serve as a lodging house, it marks the start of a long succession of different uses through the village’s history.
- 1905–1914
Afonso Pena Institute
The building becomes home to the Afonso Pena Institute, running as an agricultural school. In this period the space takes on a role of training and teaching farming activities.
- 1916–1924
Jail and penitentiary
Years later the building takes on a new role and is used as a jail or penitentiary, adding one more chapter to the different occupations that ran through its history.
- 1930
Paricatuba leprosarium
The compulsory transfer of people with leprosy to the Paricatuba leprosarium begins. The old building becomes part of one of the most striking and sensitive periods of the village’s history, leaving memories that are still present in the accounts of long-time residents and community families.
- 1968
Transfers to the Antônio Aleixo Colony begin
The process of transferring patients from Paricatuba to the Antônio Aleixo Colony, in Manaus, begins, opening a new stage in the history of the old leprosarium.
- 1980s
The last patients
Even after the transfers started in 1968, the process stretched on for many years. In the 1980s the last patients were still leaving the old Paricatuba leprosarium for the Antônio Aleixo Colony.
- 1980s
Santa Terezinha School
In the same decade, part of the old building took on a new role. The Pistoia Mission renovated part of the structure to house the Santa Terezinha School, which served the community and stayed open there until 1995.
- 1995
The Santa Terezinha School closes
After years as part of the lives of the village’s children and families, the Santa Terezinha School closes its doors in the old building. The space remains a witness to the many stories lived between its walls.
- 1999
Electricity arrives
The arrival of electricity in Paricatuba Village is a major change in the community’s daily life, opening new possibilities for homes, small businesses and residents’ lives.
- 2015
Intangible Historical Heritage
On 17 November 2015, Paricatuba Village is recognized as Intangible Historical Heritage of the State of Amazonas — recognition that protects not only the brick ruins but the living memory of those who passed through, endured and keep telling this story.
Watch the documentary and hear this story from those who lived it.
Through memories, encounters and change, the documentary presents Paricatuba through the eyes and voices of its own community. Residents share recollections, experiences and affection, revealing a village that preserves its history while building new paths for the future.
