Landscape and rural architecture: the region of Pelotas [RS], Brazil

In Brazil, the European immigration regions have been recognized as cultural heritage, since both are marked by the presence of movable and immovable property, as by identifying traces of social reproduction of Italian immigrants, besides natural elements that make up the landscape. This paper examines the “Colônia Maciel”, in the District of “Rincão da Cruz” in the city of Pelotas, state of “Rio Grande do Sul”, which presents a set of objects, customs and traditions, in addition to the rural architecture of the remaining time of that Italian colonization region. The paper proposes also to discuss how the presence of rural cultural heritage, preserved and legitimized by the local community socially, can be a determining factor for the official recognition of the 5th colony of Italian immigration