The Mosteiro de São Bento sits atop a hill, its simple white facade hiding an interior covered in layers of intricate gold leaf. Benedictine monks founded this abbey in fifteen ninety, making it one of the oldest institutions in Rio de…
Centro Baroque Churches
This walk takes you through the oldest cobblestone corridors of Rio's downtown to experience the jaw-dropping gold leaf and dramatic artistry of the city's finest colonial-era churches.
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1. Mosteiro de São Bento
2. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Candelária
The Church of Our Lady of Candelária features a massive neoclassical facade flanked by two bell towers that rise above the surrounding office buildings in downtown Rio. This church originated as a small chapel built by a Spanish couple in…
3. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Lapa dos Mercadores
The facade of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Lapa dos Mercadores features a distinctive clock set directly into its stone pediment, a detail that sets it apart from the surrounding colonial buildings. Built by merchants in seventeen…
4. Imperial Irmandade da Santa Cruz dos Militares
The Imperial Irmandade da Santa Cruz dos Militares features a facade carved from imported lioz limestone, a distinctive pale stone hauled across the Atlantic from Portugal. This church began as a small wooden chapel built by soldiers in…
5. Church of the Order Terceira do Carmo
The Church of the Order Terceira do Carmo features a facade carved entirely from lioz stone, imported from Portugal as ballast in colonial ships. Completed in the late eighteenth century, the building served as the royal chapel for the…
6. Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Antiga Sé
The Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Antiga Sé features a facade of dark lioz stone shipped across the Atlantic from Portugal. This building served as the royal chapel for the Portuguese monarchs when they fled to Brazil in eighteen oh…
7. Convento de Santo Antônio
The Convento de Santo Antônio sits atop the Morro de Santo Antônio, identifiable by its austere, white-washed colonial facade and the heavy stone walls that have anchored this hillside since the early seventeenth century. Franciscan friars…
8. Igreja da Venerável Ordem Terceira de São Francisco da Penitencia
The church of the Venerable Third Order of Saint Francis of Penance holds a front facade carved entirely from lioz stone, imported by ship from Portugal. Behind these heavy stone walls lies an interior covered in so much gold leaf that…