[9] As explained by Monika Kaup (Ph.D., Ruhr University, 1991), "the delirious baroque effect is achieved by letting ornamentation run riot on interior walls, retablos, and facades.

"[9] The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi adheres to common Rococo elements, as Lisboa included gilded carvings and high-reliefs throughout the chapel and marked the exterior with the façade and soapstone frontispiece.

Ouro Preto is a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site and cited as an example of baroque architecture.

Indeed the baroque ideals were greatly encouraged by the church, particularly through the activities of the Jesuits (Barbosa 1978, 10) in an effort to curtail the expansion of Protestantism in the Iberian colonial strongholds.

With the discovery of gold in what is now the state of Minas Gerais in the late 17th century, there was also considerable wealth, which significantly enhanced the baroque orientation towards ostentation.

Much of this wealth was invested in the construction and decoration of churches as well as in the production of grand religious festivals with magnificent processions and ceremonious sung masses.

As social anthropologist Suzel Ana Reily (Ph.D., University of São Paulo) notes in her research on the baroque era and local identity: "In Campanha, as in other former mining towns in the region such as Ouro Preto, São João del-Rey, Prados, Lavras, Baependi and a number of others, Holy Week is the main event on the annual religious calendar.

It is enacted following a highly theatrical, ‘baroque’ template that developed during the colonial period and it is propelled by a choral repertoire that centers upon the works of major colonial composers...Through the festivities the population of the town is transported back to the gold mining era, a glorious age of considerable wealth, and the power of these experiences has been central in defining local identity in terms of the legacy of gold.

Holy Week celebrations continue through today, with thousands of people participating in the processions, music, and elaborate decoration of the city.