Mariana

Mariana, city, east-central Minas Gerais estado (state), southeastern Brazil. It is located on the Carmo River in the Doce River basin at 2,287 feet (697 metres) above sea level. Formerly known as Vila de Albuquerque and Vila de Carmo, the settlement was made a seat of a municipality in 1711 and attained city status in 1745. The state’s oldest city, Mariana was once renowned as a mining centre and since 1905 has been the seat of a bishopric. The old prison (gadeia), the Carmo and São Francisco de Assis churches, the Palace of Governors, and other colonial buildings remain. Agriculture and livestock raising are now the principal economic activities, yielding beef, milk, poultry, coffee, rice, corn (maize), feijão (beans), sugarcane, garlic, and sorghum. The nearby Minas da Passagem, one of the largest gold mines in Minas Gerais, is still economically significant. Mariana is accessible by railroad and highway from Rio de Janeiro and from Belo Horizonte, the state capital (50 miles [80 km] northwest). Pop. (2010) 54,179.