The Casa do Sítio da Ressaca is a Bandeirista-style building, a remnant of the Brazilian colonial period, located in the Jabaquara district of the city of São Paulo. Located on the old road to Santo Amaro. The house was built in 1719, as attested by inscriptions found on the main door and tiles. Some of its roof tiles are original and bear inscriptions from the 18th century, such as the date of manufacture and the name of the potter. The doors and jambs, in canela-preta, are also original.
The name of the ranch is likely due to the Ressaca stream, also called Fagundes and Ressaca, that bathed its surroundings. Built with rammed earth, the house adopts an asymmetric plan, not very common in the Bandeirista residences. It has windows and doors with side lintels, while the roof is pitched in two parts.
Overview
The house was used until 1969 when it was expropriated for the construction of the São Paulo subway. Preserved by the Council for the Defense of Historical, Archaeological, Artistic and Tourist Heritage (CONDEPHAAT), the Casa Sítio da Ressaca was restored in 1978 under the commitment of the Municipal Urbanization Company (EMURB) and was re-inaugurated in 1979. In 1986, it suffered a small fire causing the house to undergo restoration again in 1987, 1988, 1990, and 2002.
Also in 2002, the Casa do Sítio da Ressaca was occupied by the Acervo da Memória e do Viver Afro-Brasileiro. It currently contains exhibitions and activities focused on Afro-Brazilian memory, and since 1990, it is part of the Jabaquara Cultural Center, hosting events, exhibitions, and also the Paulo Duarte Municipal Library.
The current address of Casa Sítio da Ressaca is Rua Nadra Raffoul Mokodsi, 3, Jabaquara, São Paulo.
History
Sergeant Major Lopes de Medeiros was the first owner of Sítio da Ressaca, at the time called Sítio Piranga. The farm was sold to Captain Manual de Avilla, and in 1700 was re-sold to Captain Agostinho de Macedo. The site's headquarters, the house still in the region and preserved, was likely built in 1719, as suggested by the number "1719" engraved on the main door. The house's roof tiles also show the year they were manufactured (1713, 1714, and 1716). There are records that Maria Vasconcellos, granddaughter of the Governor of the Captaincy of São Vicente, Captain-Mor Antônio Aguiar Barriga, had a house built in that region, but there is no indication that this would be the same house that remains to this day in Jabaquara.
The name "Ressaca" appears for the first time in 1780, registered by Teresa Paula de Jesus Fernandes, owner of the property, who asked for the measurement and demarcation of Sítio da Ressaca, which would reach the lands of Father Domingos Gomes de Albernáz. For the measurement to be made, Teresa Paula de Jesus Fernandes gathered old titles, in which it was stated that Sergeant Major Lopes de Medeiros was the original owner of the sítio da Ressaca, before 1700. Teresa Paula de Jesus Fernandes donated part of the land to the manumissioned Francisco Raposo, sold another part to Padre Félix José de Oliveira, and another to Beata Úrsula.
In 1827, Sítio da Ressaca belonged to Padre Vicente Pires da Motta, who sold it that year to Jorge Heath. The ranch was re-sold to Guilherme Hopkins and later to Henrique Henriqueson. In 1853, the house was purchased by Francisco Antônio Mariano. His widow, Dona Justina Mariano Peruche, sold the farm to one of her sons, Felício Antônio Mariano Fagundes, who united the Ressaca Farm, the Simão Farm, and the Olho D'água Farm under the same name, "Ressaca". From 1860 to 1900, the farm belonged to Felício A. Mariano Fagundes, and with his death, his heirs divided the property. The part containing the house was sold in 1908 to Antonio Cantarella, responsible for the urbanization of the Jabaquara neighborhood, and was a family farm until 1969. On this occasion, there was a new division of the area, with one part being allotted and transformed into what is today the Jardim Metropolitano. Another part was expropriated by the São Paulo subway, to build a maneuvering patio.
After the subdivision, the local landscape was disfigured and the house was expropriated in 1978 along with a 1-hectare plot of land around it. After the fire in 1986, the house underwent another restoration and ended up being listed by IPHAN. After this, it became part of the Jabaquara Cultural Center and, since 1990, it has housed the Afro-Brazilian Memory and Living Collection, gathering objects related to the presence of black people in São Paulo.