Historic Centre of the Town of Olinda, Olinda

The Historic Center of Olinda, also called Cidade Alta, encompasses the historic area of the Brazilian municipality of Olinda, in the state of Pernambuco.

Almost a third of the total area of the municipality is protected. The preservation of this historic site began in the 1930s, when the main monuments were protected. From then on several actions were promoted in order to preserve all the historical, cultural, and architectural heritage that still exists in the city. The site was declared a National Monument by the National Congress in 1980, and in 1982 was recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

Olinda was the wealthiest city in colonial Brazil between the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, according to writers of the time such as Pero de Magalhães Gândavo, and was even referred to as a "little Lisbon", given the opulence only comparable to that of the Portuguese court. It was the seat of colonial Brazil between 1624 and 1625 during the first of the Dutch invasions: Matias de Albuquerque was named Governor-General, administering the colony from Olinda. The town remained prosperous until the Dutch invasion of the Capitania of Pernambuco, when the Dutch, after removing the noble materials from the buildings to build their houses in the capital of New Holland, set fire to Olinda. With the end of the Pernambuco Insurrection, Olinda became the headquarters of the captaincy again, but without the influence of the past, which caused conflicts such as the Mascates War. In the mid-19th century, the city ceased to be the capital of Pernambuco.

Olinda is home to dozens of Baroque churches and convents of inestimable historical value, and maintains its colonial urban layout. It is a place of great importance in the history of Brazil.