Visitors on the rustic bridge that still spans Lago dos Marrecos in the Parque Municipal.
The park was inaugurated in 1897, with gardens projected by the French landscape
architect Paul Villon. In The State of Minas Gerais (1918), we find the following
description: Belo Horizonte’s inhabitants have great affection for the wonderful
Parque Municipal. It covers 62 wooded hectares near the city center, and its beauty
is poetic: famous lawns, bird-filled lakes, waterfalls, fountains, grottos, aviaries,
artistic bridges, and intersecting promenades that stretch out as far as the eye can
see. Today, the entrance gates of the well-preserved Parque Municipal Américo
René Giannetti open on to Avenida Afonso Pena, Avenida dos Andradas,
and Alameda Ezequiel Dias, in downtown Belo Horizonte.