Olinda was the first major Portuguese urban nucleus in the new lands of America. It was built to promote trade and to generate wealth, serving the aims of the Portuguese occupation of the New World. Mostly thanks to the production of sugar in the engenhos (sugar mills) of Pernambuco, Olinda became one of the most important trading centres of the Brazilian colony, rivalling the Portuguese Court in the late 16^th century in luxury and ostentation, and raising the interest of other Europeans. This interest was such that in 1630, the Dutch West Indies Company conquered Olinda and dominated a good part of the Brazilian Northeast, until 1654.

Olinda was also the scene of historic events which were fundamental to the formation of the Brazilian nationality. Nevertheless, in 1827, the city lost forever its power struggle with Recife and ceased to be the capital of Pernambuco Province. Still, Olinda continued to be a cradle for the arts and culture. The cultural roots of the city blossomed through the religious processions, the liturgical manifestations, the Carnival parades, the folkloric expressions and the creations of its artists and popular handicraft makers, both native to the city and coming from outside – all of which contributed to further strengthening its tourist potential.

Olinda's historical centre has the largest concentration of the city's urban cultural heritage. There can be seen the original urban nucleus of the city, the records of which can be found in the citations of the 1537 Portuguese Regal Regulations and in 16^th and 17^th century maps. It consisted of buildings and green areas of an outstanding architectural, historical, archaeological, ethnographic, aesthetic and socio-cultural value. Its 16^th century monuments, along with its architectural and urban setting, which bear witness to its 471 years of age, give Olinda the characteristics of a city which is alive and in a continuous evolutionary process. The historical site of Olinda covers the hills and the low areas adjacent to the sea, where the first settlements were established and where the monuments, the centuriesold houses and the narrow, steep and sinuous streets are to be found. Olinda is the most important tourist and cultural attraction of the Brazilian Northeast. Predominantly residential, it also has tourist shops and small-scale services, as well as cultural and leisure activities consistent with its identity as a historical urban centre.

In 1982, the Historical Site of Olinda was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, which raised national and international interest in our city. This has contributed to improving its opportunities and economic development, but most of all, to publicizing the immensely rich, diversified and creative cultural production of its inhabitants, revealing Olinda's hospitable and determined character, historically forged through the encounter and intermingling of peoples from the “four corners” of the world and in the libertarian struggles that occurred here.