The word Pelourinho, in a broad sense, corresponds to a wood column normally placed in the center of a plaza, where criminals were exhibited and punished. In Brazil, and especially the pelourinho in Salvador, the principal use was to punish slaves with lashings of a whip during the colonial period. In the era after slavery in Brazil, this place in the city started to attract artists of every type: cinema, music, painting, etc, turning Pelourinho into a cultural center.

Pelourinho was an entirely residential neighborhood, where the best living quarters were located, all the way up until the start of the 20th century.

Starting from the 1960′s, it suffered a strong process of degradation, with the modernization of the city and the transference of the economic activities taking place in other regions of the Bahian Capital. This transformed the Historical Center into a den of prostitution and marginality.

In 1991, there was a massive State investment in security and financing in the areas of hospitality, restaurants, dance schools and other areas of art, in addition to a grand restoration of villas throughout the city. However, certain buildings were not repaired internally, as only the façades were prioritized, among other reasons, due to the interior state of the villas which impeded a faithful reconstruction. With the restoration, the search for national and international tourists was amplified. Furthermore, the restoration caused those who once lived in the villas to be relocated elsewhere within Salvador.

The Pelourinho of Salvador is a place full of colonial buildings of differing tones and colors. Because of its culturally historic value, the place is included on the National Historic Register, and called a World Cultural Site by UNESCO, which certified the location as a Patrimony of Humanity. Pelourinho is located within the Historic Center of Salvador, which due to UNESCO, allows Salvador to be a member of the Organization of Cities of Worldwide Patrimony.