Aparecida (SP): socio spatial formation of a religious attraction

Abstract

By means of several methodological tools, in this study we focus on the pilgrimage, i.e. Religious Tourism, as the constitutive element of tourism territoriality. Here, the center of our attention is the social transformation of Aparecida/SP; this pilgrimage site is driven by devotion to the image of Our Lady of Aparecida, and the church, the Basilica of Aparecida and the proper city are urban-architectural forms that work together. In order to forming a site summary, we have adopted the historical-genetic method. The objective is to understand the formation of the resulting territoriality of religious visitation and their relationship in the development of attractive and therefore of tourism. It also sought to establish tourist attraction concepts, considering their value as well leisure and alienating society and heritage portrayed as territorial trainer and justified by the location in question. Thus, we conduct interviews, made indirect observations and also have based the research on theoretical studies related to religion, tourism, the city and the myth, this way we define specificities of this form of urbanization related to Religious Tourism. To note that the recognition of these appropriations space facilitates a better understanding of the location, facilitating future interventions.