Historic Centre of São Luís

The Historic Centre of São Luís (Portuguese: Centro Histórico de São Luís) is located on the Island of São Luis on the Bay of São Marcos in São Luís, the capital of Maranhão, Brazil. The historic center covers an area of 220 hectares (540 acres), and has approximately 4,000 properties from the 18th and 19th centuries within protected state and federal zones. Part, but not all, of the Historic Center was declared a World Heritage Site in 1997. The Brazilian National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) describes the Historic Center as "an exceptional example of a Portuguese colonial city adapted to the climatic conditions of equatorial South America, and which has preserved its urban fabric harmoniously integrated into its surrounding environment." Pedro Teotónio Pereira, ambassador to Brazil and first director of the Gulbenkian Foundation, described São Luís as "the most Portuguese city in Brazil".