Belém's grand central square, shaded by century-old mango trees and fronted by the Theatro da Paz.
The square was laid out in the nineteenth century and expanded during the rubber boom. The ornamental bandstand and the kiosks selling cold drinks are original period features that have survived more or less intact.
Street vendors set up along the perimeter in the late afternoon, selling grilled corn, tapioca, and — inevitably — açaí. It is one of the more pleasant urban squares in the Brazilian north, and a natural meeting point before or after visiting the theater.
A story
Praça da República is the social center of the city — a wide, formally laid-out square where the mango trees are so large and old that they form a near-continuous canopy. On weekend mornings there is an arts and crafts fair here; on weekday evenings people sit on benches and watch the city wind down. The Theatro da Paz closes off one end; the other opens onto the busy commercial streets of the center.