André de Albuquerque Square

[3] André was the master of the Cunhaú mill and one of the main figures of the revolt in Rio Grande do Norte, along with Miguel Joaquim de Almeida Castro, better known as Padre Miguelinho.

[4][3] André took power in the city of Natal and the province of Rio Grande do Norte for a brief period from March 29 to April 25, 1817, when he deposed the then governor of the captaincy, José Inácio Borges.

However, after the defeat of the revolutionaries in Pernambuco, the movement lost its strength in the other states of the region, and André was eventually deposed and imprisoned in the Fortress of the Three Wise Men (Portuguese: Fortaleza dos Reis Magos), where he died.

[10] Carvalho Filho continued the work installing new benches, a modern bandstand, a new pattern of trees and a new paving of the space, which was eventually connected to the Sete de Setembro Square through the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Others were planted without sacrificing the purpose imposed on this corner - to serve for our civic and school constructions, so that the people could freely spread out, as they do now...The second major reform of the square was conducted by Mayor Djalma Maranhão, who governed Natal between October 3, 1960 and April 2, 1964.

[11] In addition, in the area closest to the Court of Justice, the mayor erected a light fountain and an art gallery,[12] inaugurated with festivities and exhibitions on March 8, 1963, which was heavily used by local artists in the 1960s.

[15] Near the centennial of the death of Father Miguelinho, on June 12, 1937, the Historic and Geographic Institute of Rio Grande do Norte inaugurated a monument to the heroes of the Revolution of 1817 in the André de Albuquerque Square.

[8] At the end of the inauguration event, the brass bands played the "Marcha José Peregrino," which had been sung earlier by the revolutionaries at the moment of their victorious entry into Natal on March 25, 1817.

[9] The monument is a granite column placed above a pedestal with inscriptions in Latin made by Canon Estevão Dantas, and is located in the area near the Old Cathedral (Church of Our Lady of Presentation).

[16][5] Among the anniversary celebrations, there were events such as solemn sessions at the Academy of Letters of Rio Grande do Norte and at the Alberto Maranhão Theater, as well as a mass on Christmas Eve, a night of traditional merrymaking, a nautical parade on the Potengi River, a gala ball at the Natal Aero Club, and, finally, the inauguration of a new monument at the André de Albuquerque Square.

[16] The monument is composed of the pillory (which was forgotten at the Historic and Geographic Institute and which had killed André de Albuquerque himself in 1817)[4] surrounded by four cannons from the Fortress of the Three Wise Men that stood on masonry pedestals.

[11] The monument, located almost in the center of the square, where previously existed the bandstand installed by Carvalho Filho, displeased the City Council of Natal, which sent a letter of dissatisfaction to Sílvio Pedrosa who, in turn, only regretted the disagreement.

[18][19] Besides the Old Cathedral, also present are the building of the Regional Electoral Court,[20] the Historic and Geographic Institute of Rio Grande do Norte,[21] and the Patronage of the Miraculous Medal, which since 1937 takes care of the education of abandoned girls.