View of Largo do Pelourinho, the address of Jorge Amado House.

Largo do Pelourinho lies in the very heart of the city of Salvador's oldest quarter. At the foot of the old Carmo Gates, next to Terreiro de Jesus square and one of the most famous groups of baroque churches in the Americas: São Francisco, with its gilded carvings; Rosário dos Pretos and Passo and the imposing Cathedral Basilica, once the church of the Jesuit College where poet Gregório de Mattos went to school and Father Antônio Vieira preached his famous sermons.

Officially called José de Alencar Plaza, Largo do Pelourinho got its name because for many years it was a place of punishment where convicts were exposed to the gaze of passersby and public vilification by being tied to a pillory ("pelourinho" in Portuguese). Torrents of blood have flowed on the rounded stones of its pavement, polished by time, particularly the blood of tortured slaves who often died there, the victims of their longing for freedom and the cruelty of their owners. Jorge Amado House overlooks this spot, the scene of so many tragedies, the setting of so much suffering, but also a place of intense beauty, portrayed in photographs published around the world, a must-have postcard for anyone who visits Salvador.

The chosen site could not be more fitting. After all, Largo do Pelourinho is one of the landmarks in the vast territory formed by the work of Bahia's most beloved son and author. ("Amado" means beloved.) Among the ghosts of the past and the varied populace that dwells in the district's imposing townhouses, the characters Jorge created move about at ease. Going beyond the barriers of language, he took the stories of his people to all four corners of the globe. Antônio Balduíno and Corporal Martim wandered these sloping streets. Pedro Arcanjo died here. Quincas Berro Dágua was reborn in Pelourinho, where Dona Flor came to seek advice from Dionísia de Oxossi. Jubiabá could pop out from the shadows of an ancient doorway. Or it might be Jesuíno Galo Doido from Shepherds of the Night.

If passersby are lucky, they could even catch the scent of Tereza Batista's perfume as she vanishes around the corner. But they will be sure to find the people of Bahia in these historic streets - joyous, communicative, long-suffering and proud of their homeland.

If you have time and want to learn a bit more about the life of art and literature in Bahia, the doors of Jorge Amado House are open.

www.jorgeamado.org.br