Sobrado at Rua Castro Alves, 2

The construction of the Sobrado at Rua Castro Alves, 2 dates to the end of the 18th century. It was built by Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Xavier de Oliveira Sobral, and passed on in a donation letter to Father José Valentim de Oliveira Sobral in 1810. The property remained the property of the priest until his death, as stated in the inventory of Lieutenant Colonel Luís Francisco Freire, the Baron of Laranjeiras, who acquired it from his heirs. It was then owned by Anna Francisca Freire, Manuel Santos Lima, Anna Bonfim Pires and finally Maria Antonieta Costa Santos who, in 2003, sold the sobrado to the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage. It now hosts exhibitions and workshops related to cultural heritage.^[2][3][1]

In 2006, a historical survey and archaeological intervention carried out on the occasion of the building's restoration work clarified the question about the occupation of the townhouse, without confirming, however, the occupation of the property by the Ombudsman or Provincial Assembly.

The sobrado is located at one of the corners of São Francisco square in close alignment with Rua Cel. Erondino Prado. It has two floors with a small yard at rear. The sobrado covers 303.24 square metres (3,264.0 ft²) on a 402.56 square metres (4,333.1 ft²) site. Its walls are of rammed earth, brick masonry, stone masonry; wooden pillars that support sections of the first floor. The four doors (one now altered into a window) on the ground floor correspond roughly to six windows on the upper floor; each window has a distinctive wood balcony. Little remains of the interior elements of the building, other than a few paintings discovered during renovations.^[2][3][1]