The historic mansions of São Luís, state capital of Maranhão, Northeast Brazil, are cherished in the memories of anyone who has visited the city. Nevertheless, at least 261 of the more than 4 thousand mansions listed as federal and state heritage sites are at risk of collapsing, as per a recent evaluation by the state fire department.
The assessment of the most vulnerable buildings shows that the risk is “mild” for 93 mansions, “medium” for 73, and “critical” for 95. Most of these, 244, are privately owned and conservation falls under the owners’ responsibility.
Brazil’s heritage body IPHAN, which inspects the state of conservation of some of the sites, report the owners that measures must be taken to curb degradation. The institute looks into the violations and impose the applicable penalties, ranging from a fine to court sanctions. In many cases, the biggest challenge lies in locating the owners.
In addition to carrying out restoration work, the authority estimates that about seven percent of the buildings in downtown São Luís are in a precarious state of preservation. These are manor houses, townhouses, residences, and other buildings up to four stories high, most of them dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The state government has incentive programs for the preservation of the buildings and the city of São Luís has recently unveiled restoration initiatives and delivered the renovated homes to people living in the city center.
