Cathedral Basilica of Salvador
Seventeenth-century Jesuit church on Terreiro de Jesus, with a Lisbon limestone front and gilded chapels.
Raised between 1657 and 1672 as the church of the Jesuit college, the building is one of the earliest and least altered mannerist churches in Brazil. Its severe façade was cut from Lisbon limestone and shipped across the Atlantic as ballast, then assembled on Terreiro de Jesus in the upper town. The plan is a wide hall with side chapels rather than aisles, a scheme the Jesuits used across their missions, and the interior is roofed by a painted coffered ceiling.
Inside, the gilded chapels, jacaranda sacristy furniture and Portuguese tiles span the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the tomb of Mem de Sá, third governor-general of Brazil, lies before the high altar. After the Jesuits were expelled in 1759 the church passed to other users, and it became the city's cathedral in 1933 when the old Sé was pulled down for a tramline. The building stands within the UNESCO-listed historic centre.
Highlights
- Mannerist façade of Lisbon limestone brought over as ships' ballast
- Gilded side chapels and a painted coffered nave ceiling
- Sacristy panelled in jacaranda with Portuguese tilework
- Tomb of governor-general Mem de Sá before the high altar
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