Salvador's Historical Churches Tour (Self Guided), Salvador

The Church of the Third Order of Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Boqueirão dos Homens Pardos is a Catholic temple built in 1727 and located in the neighborhood of Santo Antônio in Salvador.

Its construction started in 1727 to house the Brotherhood of N. Sra. of the Conception of Brown Men. Until then, this Brotherhood occupied the Mother Church of Santo Antônio. The building was completed only between the end of the 18th century and the mid-19th century, with the implementation of the towers.

The plan of the church is composed of two floors, ground floor and first floor, as well as two basements. On the ground floor are located the nave, the side aisles and the sacristy at the back. On the upper floor are the galleries. the choir and consistory room. The last basement is used as a catacomb in the 19th century.

On its main façade, there are two towers flanking the central body, which follows the Rococo style. Its tiled pediment, characteristic of churches of that time in Bahia, is decorated with volutes and a shell-shaped niche. Its towers have oculus and end with a bulb and pinnacles, in an octagonal shape. One of the towers is a bell tower.

Inside it is decorated in neoclassical and baroque style. It has three altars richly covered in gold and the carving work was carried out by Joaquim Francisco de Mattos and Antônio de Souza Santa Rosa. Its floor is white and gray marble. The ceiling of the nave is attributed to a disciple of José Joaquim da Rocha, who executed a painting following his style, the baroque illusionist perspective.

The Carmo Convent in Salvador is one of the largest and oldest of the Order of Carmo in Brazil . It began to be built in 1586 by the First Order of Carmelite Friar . It served as a shelter for the Bahians who, in the war against the Dutch , who wanted to dominate Bahia , and consequently Brazil, found refuge and safety in the walls, which are true fortresses.

The Church of Carmo in Salvador is the church of the homonymous convent , built for the liturgical acts of the Carmelite religious , like every convent or abbey that has its own private church.

This church is in the Baroque style and its current structure basically includes elements from the 17th and 18th centuries, although its construction began at the end of the 16th century.

On its main facade there are three large doors, with a bell tower on the left. It has a single nave and on the ceiling there is a painting of Our Lady and the Carmelite Saints. Its sacristy, in Rococo style , impresses with its beauty.

Its altars were made of wood, coated with gold and the main altar table is made of silver dating from the 18th century. The floor, the baptismal font and parts of the wall were made of lioz limestone, brought from Portugal.

The convent is one of the largest in the world, with two cloisters and eighty cells.

Beside the Igreja do Carmo , which is attached to the grandiose convent, is the Igreja da Ordem Terceira do Carmo , which constitutes another masterpiece of incomparable beauty. The Igreja do Carmo also features one of the most beautiful sacristies in the world, now reclusive (closed to the public). However, a small sacristy was built to be used by the Rector of that church in his liturgical acts .

Since the 1970s , the Convent has had a hotel assignment due to a lack of enough friars . Due to its location in the Historic Center of Salvador , Pousada do Convento do Carmo is a repetition of what happens in Europe , where hotels are installed in historic buildings, and it is the first luxury historic hotel in the country .

The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People is a Roman Catholic church along Pillory Street in Salvador. Construction on the Baroque-style church began in 1709 and took nearly 100 years.

The church was built by members of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black Men of Pelourinho. Afro-Brazilian brotherhood, made up of both slaves and free blacks, petitioned for the church and used their learned skills and arduous labor under the direction of master craftsman Caetano Jose da Costa.

The facade of the building, designed by da Costa, was added after 1780. The frontispiece of the Church of the Rosary is highly complex. It is similar to the Parish Church of Saint Bartholomew in Maragogipe.

The church has two towers made of plain stone masonry, in contrast to the blue limestone of the facade. The towers have rectangular belfries with circular openings on four sides below the church bell windows. Each corner of the belfry has a stylized torchiere. A graveyard is accessible at the rear of the church.

The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1938 and is part of the Historic Center of Salvador Unesco World Heritage Site.

São Francisco Church and Convent of Salvador is a church of the Third Order of Saint Francis in the historical center of Salvador.

The friars of the Franciscan Order constructed a convent and church after they arrived in Salvador in 1587. The religious buildings were destroyed during the Dutch invasions of Bahia in the 17th century. The current church was built on the ruins of the original structure. New construction began in 1708 and finished in 1723.

The interior of the church, completed in 1755, includes ornate gilded woodwork that covers the surfaces of the nave. The nave aisles were patterned after the Sao Francisco Church of Oporto and the Sao Roque in Lisbon.

The church has the distinction of featuring 55,000 glazed colored azulejos, the largest number of traditional Portuguese tiles in any church in Latin America. The tiles adorn the lower parts of the wall in the main chapel, and they entirely cover the cloister. The artist is unknown, but the artwork of the tiles is attributed to Bartolomeu Antunes de Jesus.

A large stone cross, common to Franciscan churches in Brazil, sits in front of the cathedral. It is 26 feet tall and has a base of 18 feet. The cross was imported from Lisbon in 1807.

The São Francisco Church and Convent of Salvador are important Colonial monuments in Brazil. The church and convent were listed as historic structures by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1938. They are also considered one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World.

The São Francisco Church and Convent are open to the public. Visitors may enter the church for tours or worship.

Igreja da Ordem Terceira da Penitência de São Domingos de Osma , or Church and House of the Third Order of São Domingos , is an 18th-century Roman Catholic church in Salvador. The church is dedicated to Saint Dominic , a Castilian priest and founder of the Dominican Order . It belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia .

It occupies the northwest perimeter of the Terreiro de Jesus, in front of the Basilica Cathedral of Salvador. The church was listed as a historic structure by the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional in 1938.

The Church of the Third Order of Penitence of São Domingos was built in stone and lime masonry. It has two side buildings separated from the church by longitudinal aisles with tribunes at the top. Its main façade is decorated with sandstone vases and cymatium, has elements of the Rococo style and a tower ending in a bulb.

Inside it has a single monumental nave, a choir, novitiate, a main chapel and main altar, a sacristy, two side corridors, a room dedicated to Our Lady of Death ( Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte ), a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Death and other various rooms.

The room dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Morte now functions as an exhibition room for works of art, mainly statues of saints, from the church.

Antônio Mendes da Silva carved an elaborate altarpiece in the chancel between 1745 and 1748. The original baroque carving was replaced by neoclassical carving in 1873, by Joaquim Rodrigues de Farias. The richness of the Third Order is reflected in the elaborate decoration and use of jacaranda throughout the building. It has a massive circular staircase with a jacaranda wood railing and base, in Rococo style, which gives access to the upper floor, where the consistory, the choir, the tribunes of the chancel and nave are located, in addition to the secretariat room.

The Church of Saint Peter of the Clergymen (Portuguese: Igreja de São Pedro dos Clérigos) is an 18th-century Roman Catholic church in Salvador. It was constructed by the Brotherhood of Saint Peter in approximately 1709 and was renovated in the 18th and 19th centuries. The church was listed as a historic structure by National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1938 and is part of the Historic Center of Salvador UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Church of Saint Peter of the Clergymen was built in the tradition of Bahian churches of the 18th century, with a single nave and lateral corridors surmounted by tribunes. It lacks the transverse sacristy of other churches of the period. The exterior is of stone masonry and brick and opens directly onto the Terreiro de Jesus. A small church yard is of stone and is enclosed by an iron fence. A planned right-hand bell tower was never constructed. The decor of the interior of the church represents the transition between the both Rococo and Neoclassical styles in Bahia.

The high altar follows the design of the Italian Jesuit artist Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709). It is complemented by two altars at the corner of the chancel arch. An image of Our Lady of the Conception is at center of the high altar. A life-size statue of Saint Peter in full papal costume is placed to the right of the high altar; and image of Saint Paul is to the left. The church also has images of Santa Luzia, Saint Amaro, Saint Eligius, and Our Lady of the Gate of Heaven. The high altar and two side altars are in the Neoclassical style, with no trace of the baroque.

The painting on the ceiling of the nave depicts the Confession of Peter from the Book of Matthew. The painting is attributed to José Rodrigues Nunes (1800-1881), the only named artist to work in the church; no written record of his on the nave ceiling painting exists, other than by oral tradition. The nave ceiling has triangular vaults with elaborate gilt tracings above each opening to the tribune; each vault has an oval painting of an early benefactor of the church within.

The Church of Saint Peter of the Clergymen was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1941. It was listed in the Book of Historical Works, Inscription 168 and 254-A; and the Book of Fine Arts, Inscription fls 54. Both directives are dated September 9, 1941.

The Church of Saint Peter of the Clergymen is open to the public and may be visited. The feast days of Saints Peter and Paul are on June 29 and 30, and are likely the important celebration days of the church.

The Cathedral Basilica of Salvador, officially dedicated to the Transfiguration of Christ and named Primatial Cathedral Basilica of the Transfiguration of the Lord, is the seat of the archbishop of Salvador. The cathedral has been listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage since 1938.

The Cathedral Basilica of Salvador was originally built as part of a Jesuit monastic and educational complex. The first church was constructed in 1590. When the Dutch entered Salvador in 1624, the church was stripped of its silverwork and used as a warehouse.

The reconstruction of the complex was finished in 1654 after the Portuguese regained control of the city. It was built closely resemble the Jesuit Church of Coimbra in Portugal, carried out through the Mannerist architectural style and building the structure with Lioz stone sourced from Portugal.

Inside, the cathedral is a one-aisled church of rectangular shape, without transept, and with a very shallow main chapel. The side walls have a series of lateral chapels decorated with altarpieces. The chapels illustrate altarpiece art from the late 16th through the mid-18th centuries, all decorated with sculptures and paintings. The sacristy cabinet dates to the 17th century and showcase the life of Jesus in paintings on copper panels.

Much of the complex burned in 1905, leaving only the church behind. It was reconstructed in 1933 and then gained protected status. The cathedral is open to the general public for tours and worship.

The Church and Santa Casa da Misericórdia (Portuguese: Igreja e Santa Casa de Misericórdia) is a former church and hospital in Salvador. It was established as a branch of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia in 1549; a hospital, Hospital da Caridade (English: Charity Hospital), functioned from the 17th century. The Santa Casa additionally held a monopoly on burials in colonial Bahia. It was additionally funded by its brotherhood, the Brotherhood of Santa Casa. The Santa Casa of Bahia accepted the donation of a slave-holding plantation, the Fazenda Saubara in present-day Saubara, in 1652.

The Church and Santa Casa da Misericórdia is located in the Historic Center of Salvador. Its monumental portals and baroque façade face a narrow street that runs through the historic center. The rear of the Santa Casa opens to views of the Bay of All Saints. The building was adjacent to the Old Cathedral of Salvador to the north; the demolition of the old cathedral in 1933 disfigured the north façade of the Santa Casa. The old cathedral was replaced by a public square, the Praça da Sé, and the Santa Casa now faces the Archbishop's Palace of Salvador.

The Church and Santa Casa da Misericórdia was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1938.

The former hospital and chapel now functions as a museum, the Misericórdia Museum (Portuguese: Museu da Misericórdia).

Museu da Misericórdia, located in Santa Casa da Misericórdia is dedicated to the country’s history in medicine. It had been a clay hospital that was replaced by this complex built around two cloisters and a church in 1697. Portraits of notable city figures who donated funds for this museum can be found inside.

It has a collection of 3,874 pieces of furniture, art, sacred imagery, and relics of the Hospital da Caridade itself. The museum additionally maintains the chapel of Santa Casa, much in its original form.

It is open from Tuesday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm; Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Portuguese: Basílica Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia) was built in 1623, making it one of the oldest parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia. It was the first church built by the first governor-general of Brazil, Tomé de Sousa. The current structure was prefabricated in Portugal and assembled in Salvador; its construction began in 1739 and ended in the mid 19th century. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1938.

Its monumental façade is a hybrid of Baroque and Neoclassical styles, and is based on church façades of the period in Portugal. The building was designed by Manuel Cardoso Saldanha. Its elevation to the status of basilica took place in 1946. Pope Pius XII declared Our Lady of Conception the sole patron of the State of Bahia.

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception has a monumental façade of lioz, with straight lines and rectangular details. The façade is flanked by two diagonal towers which "give a baroque touch to the design of the church box." The church is noted for its use of natural light: it has a copula above the chancel and faces directly west to utilize light from the Bay of All Saints via numerous doors and windows.

The basilica has 16 church bells. They served as an alarm system to the entire city of Salvador from the 18th century. The bells fell into disuse by 1990. They were restored and reactivated in 2021, and ring at 12 noon and 6pm. The bells can additionally play hymns for special occasions.

The interior of the church is the first complete example of the Baroque style of John V of Portugal; it was partially altered in the Neoclassical style in the 19th century. The high altar is ornate, with monumental Solomonic columns, an altar in silver, and an image of Our Lady of the Conception at center. The master carver João Moreira do Espírito Santo completed the carving of the high altar in cedar between 1765 and 1773. The ceiling of the nave has a large-scale painting of Our Lady of the Conception. It was painted in the Italianate Baroque illusionist style and by José Joaquim da Rocha (c. 1737–1807).

The church has eight side chapels: three along each side of the nave and one at either side of the high altar. The chapel at the right of the higher altar is dedicated to the Holy Christ (Capela do Santo Cristo).