Peçanha

Peçanha lies in the wooded hills of eastern Minas Gerais, in the basin of the Suaçuí Grande. News of gold drew an expedition led by João Peçanha Falcão and the priest Francisco Martins to the region in 1758. A mining camp and chapel grew into the settlement of Santo Antônio do Peçanha. The surrounding forests were already inhabited by Indigenous communities as colonial prospectors advanced into the valleys.