Abstract:
The União e Indústria road is a pioneering Brazilian road work, that besides linking
the provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, has implemented an economic model of
concession in its area and one of financial viability through the stock market. At the same
time, for its execution, it brought together the most different workers in its team, among
nationals and foreigners, between free people and, above all, slaves, who contributed from
sun to sun to make the dream of reducing almost insurmountable distances into reality. At its
inauguration in 1861, caught the French photographer's eye, Revert Henry Klumb, who was
in charge of capturing images of the most important points of that work and who had the
sensitivity to value it with his talent for landscape art. Eleven years later, Klumb launched
the first travel guide illustrated with his images, entirely produced in Brazil, which
contributed to arouse the interest of travelers. Due to number of factors, this road has become
a symbol of progress and civilization, as it has replaced transports on the back of beasts with
four-wheel vehicles and stagecoaches. As a consequence of these legacies, this investigation,
supported by a careful historical review of the road and its photographer, as well as an
exhaustive survey of iconographic sources attributed to Klumb, presents the prospect of
implementing a cultural route within the precepts of sustainability, so that one can both
conserve and protect the material and immaterial heritage resulting from it in terms of
promoting awareness of its use and enjoyment.
