Largo da Memória

Largo da Memória (Memory Square), formerly known as Largo dos Piques, is a historic square located in the center of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, at the beginning of 7 de Abril Street (formerly Palha Street). Representative of the urbanization of State of São Paulo, it is triangular, delimited by the streets Coronel Xavier de Toledo (formerly known as Paredão Street) and Quirino de Andrade (formerly Ladeira do Piques Street) and Ladeira da Memória Street, which gave origin to the name of the square, near Anhangabaú Valley, currently part of Bandeira Square. Built at the end of the colonial period, the square hosts the first, and therefore oldest, monument in São Paulo, the Piques Obelisk (Piques Pyramid), inaugurated in 1814. The site has gone through several changes, including a name change. Physical changes include the addition of walls, staircases and a portico. In 1945, Henrique Manzo, using as reference the photograph "Paredão de Piques, Ladeiras da Consolação e da Rua da Palha, 1862", published in Militão Augusto de Azevedo's "Álbum Comparativo da Cidade de São Paulo" (Comparative Album of the City of São Paulo), created the work of the genre historical painting named "Piques, 1860", commissioned by the director of the Paulista Museum, at the time Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay.

Square data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).