This paper aims to point out the importance of Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais) for Brazilian modernist project. This town was considered by the modernists as a symbol of nationality. We offer some references about this historical place and after it we analyze Murilo Mendes' poetical vision of the town, specifically in the poem "Flores de Ouro Preto", that belongs to the book Contemplação de Ouro Preto, showing the resistence of this "place of memory" against the process of modernization in Brazil.
space; history; memory; Murilo Mendes; poetry