Museu da Inconfidência

Housed in the former town hall and jail on the main square of Ouro Preto, this museum is dedicated to the failed independence movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira. Its collection includes documents, weapons and personal effects of the conspirators, along with religious art and works by the sculptor Aleijadinho. A pantheon holds the remains of the movement's leaders, honoured as national heroes. The eighteenth-century stone building now anchors the square as a shrine to independence.