Uern Natal launches guided tours of former prison site

The State University of Rio Grande do Norte (Uern Natal) is launching a guided tour route through the remains of the former João Chaves Penitentiary, historically known as ‘Caldeirão do Diabo’. The site, located in the North Zone of Natal, currently serves as a university campus.

The initiative is the result of ten years of research led by Professor Jarileide Nasi from the Uern Tourism course. Part of the ‘Memorial do Imaginário Potiguar’ extension project, the tour aims to preserve the memory of the former prison and showcase the site's transformation into an educational space.

The 30-minute tour will include preserved structures such as cell gallery walls, surveillance posts, and an original water tank. Some walls still feature inscriptions made by inmates during the facility's operation. The university plans to make the route available to schools, researchers, and educational institutions following its official launch at the Uern Interdisciplinary Congress (COIN 2026).