Monumento como documento em São João do Polêsine (RS): preservação do patrimônio cultural

Abstract

The present work aims at analyzing the Cultural Heritage at the town of São João do Polêsine, which belongs to the region of the Quarta Colônia (Fourth Colony) of Italian Immigration in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. We sought to “study” the reading the local population makes about the monuments existing locally and, if they consider it as a town heritage. We discuss the document as document and the importance Heritage has to society, understanding that is importance for preserving the nation’s memory and identity. We also highlight the history behind each monument and its meaning to the local population and, the real reason for society to keep these monuments there until today. The study is a descriptive research with a qualitative approach, carried out using interviews for data collecting as well as a bibliographical research in both digital and analogical sources. The interviews were performed with a small sample of the population, who answered questions about the monuments at the city. According to the collected data analysis, it was possible to perceive that the population considers the existing monuments as part of each one identity. This made it possible to find that the monument is essentially a document.