Madrid to Rio de Janeiro

The colonial town of Olinda was the original state administrative capital, on the site of a native village. However, it was later overtaken by the larger Atlantic port of Recife.

The flag of Pernambuco state, first used in 1817 - the blue and white colours of Portugal, with the red cross for Christianity, and the rainbow signifying a new beginning.

The Dutch artist Van der Eeckholt's 17th century painting of the indigenous Tapuia Indians who lived in settlements around Pernambuco state prior to European colonisation.

Fryedeysh Hagedorn, a German painter, created this detailed view over Recife in the early 19th century when it was established as a major Atlantic port.

A 16th century Portuguese map depicting the coastal towns of Olinda and Recife. The Portuguese first settled Pernambuco in 1501, under the captaincy of Duarte Coelho Pereira.

1671 - An engraving depicting the Dutch siege of Olinda, the capital of Pernambuco at the time of invasion. The Dutch had a short but significant influence on the state.

1890 - A portrait of Sir James Lancaster, the English privateer who took and held Recife for a month in 1595, plundering its supply of sugarcane and Brazil wood.

Visitors to the Ricardo Brennand Institute in Recife study the vast array of colonial artefacts, including these elaborate suits of armour dating from the Portuguese settlement.

Brightly coloured houses and shops built in the original colonial style line the streets of the Old City of Olinda, an important city for both the Portuguese and Dutch settlers.

Metal seals, markers and monograms from the early Dutch and Portuguese colonists of Pernambuco, held in the Ricardo Brennand Institute in Recife.

Cheerful pastel shades brighten up the Rua do Bonfirm in Olinda, paying homage to Olinda's important colonial past as one of the first major settlements in Pernambuco.

Republic Square in Recife with a statue of Maurice of Nassau, whose Dutch government made major contributions to the growth of Recife and Olinda during the 17th century.

Stained glass inside the Campo das Princesas Palace (Princesses Field Palace), depicting the uprising in 1817 of the republican rebels within the colonial state.

A field of sugarcane is harvested mechanically. In Brazil, approximately 50% of the sugarcane crop is used to refine sugar, and 50% is used for ethanol for fuel and industry.

A pivot irrigation system waters a field of sugarcane in Pernambuco. Although the state's climate is ideal for sugarcane, it requires additional moisture during dry spells.

Sugarcane is also used to create cachaça, Brazil's most popular drink. The sugarcane spirit, a type of rum, is distilled from the cane's juices before the sugar is crystallised out of it.

Cut sugarcane ready for processing. Sugarcane is a tall perennial grass, which needs warm, humid conditions to thrive - an ideal crop for Pernambuco.

A typical sugarcane processing plant, which converts the raw sugarcane into sugar, ethanol fuel and other types of ethanol alcohol for industrial uses.

A sugarcane worker harvests cut stalks by hand after automated cutting during the busy harvest season. Many farms use a combination of mechanised and manual processes.

Automated sugarcane harvesters, such as this vehicle, are now used to cut and prepare the huge fields of mature sugarcane for processing, a job that was once done by hand.

Mature fields of sugarcane ready for harvest - raw cane can be processed to produce sugar, ethanol for fuel and industry and the waste products used to generate electricity.

A dual-fuel pump at a petrol station in Brazil: A (alcohol) is the pure ethanol fuel, and G (gasoline) is the ethanol-gasoline blend, usually approximately 1/4 ethanol.

Brown sugar crystals are one of the products produced from processed sugar cane. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Pernambuco was a prized colony for this valuable crop.

A sugarcane worker cuts the cane crop by hand, using traditional harvesting methods. The speed of harvest is important to preserve the sugar held within the cane.

Storage tanks for a Shell ethanol processing plant in Brazil. Ethanol can be held in these tanks after production before it is shipped for use at home or abroad.

Many cars in Brazil, such as this Volkswagen, are built or converted to run solely on ethanol fuel, whilst the remainder of vehicles run on a gasoline/ethanol blend.

Aurora Street in Recife is an excellent example of the strong European colonial influences on the architecture and culture of both the town and the state.

1880 - A view from the city of Recife, Brazil of the colonial style houses and docks storage. As a major port and centre of trade, Recife was relatively wealthy during this time.

The bright colours and festivities of the annual pre-Lent Terça-feira de Carnival at Pátio de São Pedro square in Recife draws tourists and locals alike.

The elaborate façade of St. Anthony's Church in Recife, built in the typical Portuguese Catholic style introduced by early colonial immigrants to the area.

The "Old Centre" of Recife clearly shows the broad range of influences in the city's architecture, from the colonial building style to the brighter colours of the modern Americas.

Boa Viagem beach in Recife is a major draw for tourists and locals alike, and is considered one of the most beautiful urban areas in the state.

A Maracatu dancer, a form of Brazilian folk dance, performs at one of Recife's many carnivals, which weave together the rich cultural influences of its colonial past.

The offshore reefs in Recife gave the city its name in the 16th century. Today, it is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Brazil, and home to more than four million people.

The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue in Recife was built in the 17th century, and was the first Jewish house of worship on the continent.

Both buildings and residents are decorated to celebrate the Recife carnival which takes place every year during the four days before Lent and is a major spectacle.

A view across Recife shows how the city has developed over time, building additional bridges to link suburbs and business areas in the fourth largest metropolitan area in Brazil.

Modern Recife continues to develop as an important hub for trade, with growing diversification into the high-tech industries such as information technology.

Vibrant modern colours pick out the detail of traditional colonial buildings in Recife, demonstrating the fusion between old and new seen across the city today.