Religious architecture, collective memory, and identity in the formation of the urban landscape of the interior of São Paulo state.

Abstract

This article analyzes religious architecture as a structuring element of the urban landscape and a mediator of collective memory in the hinterland of São Paulo. It is based on the understanding that the city transcends its material dimension, configuring itself as a symbolic construction sustained by the meanings attributed to its spaces. The investigation develops from a theoretical review articulating the concepts of anthropological place and heritage, seeking to demonstrate how Catholic temples function as physical anchors of historical continuity within the urban fabric. In the Brazilian context, it examines the influence of the padroado (patronage) regime and the constitution of religious estates as vectors of territorial occupation, in which sacred buildings performed central administrative and institutional functions for the officialization of urban nuclei. Furthermore, the analysis addresses the tensions between traditional ecclesiastical centrality and the new spatial logics resulting from the 19th-century coffee and railway expansion, demonstrating that, despite infrastructural transformations, the religious building remains an active support for memory. It concludes that sacred architecture must be understood as a dynamic phenomenon, whose preservation is fundamental to sustaining the sense of place and social cohesion in contemporary cities.