Pelourinho is the name of a neighborhood in the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia, located in its Historic Center, which has a set colonial architectural (Portuguese Baroque) preserved and part of the UNESCO Heritage.

See Salvador Map

The architectural, landscape and urban ensemble, contained in the polygon of the historic center of Salvador, is one of the most important examples of Portuguese overseas urbanism, implanted in an acropolis, distinguishing itself on two levels: the administrative and residential functions at the top and the port and the seaside trade.

Allied to a unique topography, the landscape of this area is basically formed by buildings from the XNUMXth to the XNUMXth centuries, in which the monumental sets of the religious architecture, civilian and military.

Pelourinho presents groups of constructions and spaces that allow the reading of the model of cities founded by the Portuguese overseas.

The limits of the first city (morphologically planned and orthogonal), its expansion (with less rigorous characteristics, formed by streets constituted by uniform houses, interspersed with sets of monumental architecture) and, mainly, the distinction between the Upper City and the Baixa ensure the identification of a landscape inherited from the colonial period.

With the wealth generated by sugar plantation, in the middle of the XNUMXth century, the so-called monumental phase of Bahian architecture began, based on the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque style.

The construction of the main buildings dates back to that time, among which are:

• Church of the Jesuits (current Cathedral of Salvador)
• Church and Convent of São Francisco, Carmo Church
• Church and Convent of Santa Teresa (currently the most important museum of sacred art in Brazil)
• São Bento Church and Monastery
• Church of the Third Order of São Francisco, and the Governor's Palace

Veja Churches of Salvador da Bahia

The city's public spaces resulting from the layout of its streets, slopes and alleys, form one of the richest urban sets of Portuguese origin:

• Municipal Square
• Terreiro de Jesus
• Way of San Francisco
• Largo do Pelourinho
• St. Anthony's Square
• Largo do Boqueirao

Two or more storey townhouses and implantation solutions on rough terrain are typical examples of Lusitanian culture.

Between 1938 and 1945, several monuments in the historic center were listed as national heritage, to ensure the preservation of Largo do Pelourinho and its immediate surroundings.

This instrument did not prevent, however, the progressive degradation of the area, especially from 1960 onwards, when the center lost importance to the new areas of urban expansion. 

Pelourinho's Landmarks

1. Terreiro de Jesus in Pelourinho
2. cathedral basilica
3. Church of São Pedro dos Clérigos
4. Church of the Third Order of São Domingos
5. Church and Convent of San Francisco
6. Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Blacks
7. Church of the Blessed Sacrament of Rua do Passo
8. Casa de Jorge Amado Foundation
9. City Museum
10. Tempostal Museum in Pelourinho
11. Benin House Museum
12. Manor do Ferrão
13. Abelardo Rodrigues Museum
14. former Faculty of Medicine
15. Museum of Bahian Gastronomy 
16. Largo Cruzeiro de San Francisco

Videos about Pelourinho's Landmarks

See also History of the Salvador da Bahia Foundation

1. Terreiro de Jesus in Pelourinho

In the early 1550s, at the time of the foundation of Salvador by the Governor General Tomé de Sousa, the Jesuits received from the governor an area north of the new city, in which the order's priests, led by Manuel da Nóbrega, built a first chapel. of rammed earth and the first building of the Jesuit College in the city.

Due to the presence of the priests of the Society of Jesus, the square in front became known as Terreiro de Jesus.

The company's college building was completed in 1590, but before, in 1584, Gabriel Soares de Sousa (“Notícia do Brasil”, 1587) registered that “…this terreiro and part of the Rua da banda do mar occupies a sumptuous school of the priests of the Society of Jesus, with a beautiful and joyful church…”

The first small church built on the site in the 1652th century was very small and fragile, and between 1672 and XNUMX the Jesuits built a sumptuous church on the site, considered the most imposing of the XNUMXth century in Brazil.

The Church's mannerist façade, built with limestone blocks brought from Portugal, still dominates the square. The interior is composed of magnificent altarpieces in gilded woodwork in Mannerist and Baroque styles, with a carved wooden ceiling and sacristy.

In 1933, after the demolition of the old Cathedral of Salvador, the church of the Jesuits became the new Cathedral of Salvador.

In addition to the cathedral, the Terreiro houses the Convent and Church of São Francisco, the Church of the Third Order of São Francisco and also the Church of the Third Order of São Domingos and the Church of São Pedro dos Clérigos.

These temples, especially the first two, are the greatest exponents of Brazilian colonial art.

At the beginning of the 1833th century, the building of the former Colégio dos Jesuitas was used as a hospital and, in XNUMX, the first medical school in Brazil was installed there.

The colonial building was lost in a fire in 1905, being replaced by another in an eclectic style.

2. Cathedral Basilica

Built at the beginning of the 18th century, it is the fourth temple of the Colégio dos Jesuitas (the first chapel was built in 1604).

Considered the richest of all Luso-Brazilian Baroque art, it is covered inside and outside in limestone, has two towers and wooden vaults on the ceiling.

On its façade, the niches above the church doors present images of three Jesuit saints – Saint Ignatius of Loyola, S. Francisco Xavier (patron of Salvador) and S. Francisco de Borja.

Inside, the altar carvings tell the story of the evolution of architectural styles in Bahia. In one of the cells of the Cathedral, on July 18, 1697, Father Antônio Vieira, whose sermons led to his conviction by the Inquisition, died.

Among the tombstones, the third governor-general of Brazil, Mem de Sá, stands out. The building also houses the Cathedral Museum, with a collection of pieces from the 16th to the 20th centuries, jewelery and silverware.

3. Church of São Pedro dos Clérigos

The church is located in Terreiro de Jesus, in the Historic Center of Salvador, among low-rise buildings. The church is part of the site listed by IPHAN (GP-1), which comprises areas of the Sé and Passo sub-districts.

Smaller architecture, primarily of environmental value. Interior with transitional decoration between rococo and neo-classical, with large ceiling panel. It has, in addition to the main altar, two altars at the angle of the crossing arch.

It presents a typical plant of Bahian churches from the beginning of the century. XVIII, with side aisles superimposed by tribunes. However, this floor plan, like other churches in Bahia, does not yet have a transversal sacristy; it is a natural development of the “T” party (see Palma) common in the century. XVII.

The rococo frontispiece (XNUMXth century) is late. The interior is decorated in a transition between rococo and neo-classical. Although the crossing arch and roof are Rococo, the altars are already neo-classical.

Architectural history: The Brotherhood of São Pedro dos Clérigos, in the century. XVII, had its hermitage next to the old Cathedral, where, in 1708, the Archbishop's Palace was built; 1709 – Archbishop Sebastião Monteiro da Vide's license for the clergy of São Pedro to build their new church on the Jesuits' embankment, on the site destined for the Seminary.

However, it was not built on this site, as the Brotherhood acquired two houses where it was actually built; 1741 – Royal Order authorizes subsidies to repair the towers and the frontispiece of the ruined church; 1784 – Mention of land purchase; 1802 – Permit to continue the works that were embargoed by the Senate of the Chamber; 1887 – The church was added with a sacristy. The current frontispiece is also from the century. XIX.

4. Church of the Third Order of São Domingos

Church of the Third Order of São Domingos is located in Pelourinho which is the Historic Center of Salvador, integrating the site listed by IPHAN (GP-1) which comprises areas of the Sé and Passo sub-districts.

Its façade opens onto the Terreiro de Jesus, where, in addition to the church of the former Colégio de Jesus, the current Cathedral, the church of São Pedro dos Clérigos and two-storey houses, mostly from the XNUMXth century, are located. XIX.

Building of remarkable architectural merit. The construction comprises, in addition to the church, two lateral building bodies that house the 3rd Order's facilities.

The nave has a beautiful painted ceiling, attributed to José Joaquim da Rocha (1780/82), to whom the panels in the Salão Nobre are also attributed. José Antônio da Cunha Couto painted at the end of the century. XIX, four paintings for the crossing arch, four for the side altars and one for under the choir, in addition to portraits of brothers.

In the chancel there is the lower part of a tiled ashlar, which should cover the entire chancel. It is blue on a white background, depicting the life of São Domingos, ca 1740. Among the tools, the following stand out: gold crown of NS do Rosário (1748), silver crown of Our Lady (1755), cross of silver, etc.

It also has notable carving works, such as the chest of drawers in the sacristy and the start of the stairs that lead to the consistory.

This church adopts, for the first time, in Bahia, the party of three building bodies, separated by longitudinal corridors.

This same party was adopted, shortly afterwards, in the church of Conceição da Praia. The church has a typical layout of the matrixes and brotherhood churches from the beginning of the century. XVIII, with side aisles and superimposed tribunes. Rococo facade with a tower finished in bulbs. The neo-classical carving by Antônio Mendes da Silva, from the end of the last century, replaced the primitive baroque carving.

The painting on the nave's ceiling, attributed to José Joaquim da Rocha, is of a baroque illusionist design, launched in Italy in 1694 by Andrea Pozzo in the church of Sto. Ignatius of Rome, and introduced in Brazil at the end of the first half of the XNUMXth century.

architectural history

1723 – Founded the Third Order of São Domingos da Bahia, which functioned provisionally in the Monastery of S. Bento and in the hospice of Palma;

1731 – Started work on the church on the Jesuits' embankment under the responsibility of master João Antunes dos Reis;

1732 – Celebrated the 1st Mass;

1737 – Completion of the frontispiece and collateral altars;

1756 – Understanding between the 3rd Orders. of S. Domingos and S. Francisco, as the first needed some houses belonging to the second, to expand its facilities;

1783/88 – Renovation of the façade, when it is decided to send the risk of J. Antônio Caldas to Joaquim Vicente, in Lisbon, to supply the stones, but he gives up due to the price;

1873 – Under the inspiration of the Neo-Classic, the altarpiece in the chancel, by Antônio Mendes da Silva (1745/48), carved in the nave, two side altars, and a skylight in the chancel are removed;

1874/75 – Execution of neo-classical carving, comprising the chancel, four altars, six tribunes, choir ceiling and others, by Otto Koch and José dos Santos Ramos;

1880 – Gilding of the carving by Emile Bouquet;

1887 – Invoice for a grid for the crossing arch and new Italian marble flooring.

5. Church and Convent of São Francisco

Church and Convent of São Francisco is located in Pelourinho in Salvador, on a site listed by IPHAN (GP-1). The church's main façade opens onto a very elongated square, where the typical element of Franciscan housing developments is located, the cross, which gives the place its name.

A cross in front of the Church of São Francisco, in the Historic Center of Salvador. It is a typical element of the urban participation of the Franciscans. THE Cruzeiro Square it joins the Terreiro de Jesus, forming an important architectural and historical complex in Salvador.

Cruzeiro de São Francisco is articulated with the Terreiro de Jesus forming one of the most interesting urban spaces in Salvador, delimited, for the most part, by buildings from the middle of the last century. The convent's garden was considered a non aedificandi area (GP-1) by Municipal Decree No. 4.524 of 01.11.1973.

Building of high monumental value. The Convent of S. Francisco, built around a square cloister, together with the Chapel of the Third Order forms one of the most important monumental complexes in Salvador.

The body of the church is formed by three naves; the sides, much lower than the central one and separated from it by arches interspersed with massifs, reminiscent of chapels.

Its decoration is an example of baroque from the first half of the century. XVIII, and realizes the ideal of the golden church that appeared in Lisbon and Goa at the end of the century. XVII.

Also worth mentioning is the library's decoration. The convent has an underground floor and two floors above the street level.

It has rich tile panels: those in the chancel date from 1737, made in Lisbon by Bartolomeu Antunes de Jesus; those in the cloister are from Ca 1746/48; those in the anteroom and sacristy are from the period 1749/52.

On the towers and part of the facade, tiles from ca 1805/08. Among the imagery stands out: S. Pedro de Alcântara, a beautiful work of Brazilian imagination.

This church, with three naves, is different from other Franciscan buildings in the NE, which have a single nave with two passages flanking the chancel and leading to the transversal sacristy.

It seems to have been influenced by S. Francisco do Porto, a Gothic construction with three naves and XNUMXth century decoration. XVII, and by the traditional Luso-Brazilian Jesuit plant.

Its sumptuous façade is a development of the type adopted in the Matriz de Maragogipe, but some elements were taken from the old Cathedral, such as the central door flanked by two smaller ones, like the triumphal arches.

She adopted from ig. from Colégio de Jesus the division of the rectangular body of the façade into five parts by two orders of superimposed pilasters. The volutes derive from the type created in Cairú, developed in Sto. Antônio do Paraguassu and still existing at the Colégio dos Jesuitas de Santarém (Port. ).

Its frontispiece inspired the church of Barroquinha and the Franciscan Convent of Vila de S. Francisco (Ba). The style of decoration is affiliated with the Porto D´ Aveiro school.

The nave has a coffered ceiling with octagonal panels that alternate with square cushions. The ceiling of the convent entrance presents an illusionist perspective attributed to José Joaquim da Rocha (ca 1774).

architectural history

1587 – The Franciscan convent is founded in Bahia;

1686 – Frei Vicente das Chagas starts a new convent and church under a grandiose plan;

1705/07 – Construction continues: coverings and the infirmary altar;

1707/10 – Finished the cloister walls and started the pillars;

1708 – Placed the 1st. church stone.

Works under the direction of Manoel Quaresma. At the end of Friar Vicente's Administration, the church was built almost to the cross;

1710/14 – Friar Hilário da Visitação continues the works;

1713 – Consecration of the church, then built until the pulpits were raised;

1723 – The church is completed, including a sandstone frontispiece and installation of the choir chairs;

1729/32 – Friar Álvaro da Conceição brings the stones to the columns of the cloister;

1733/37 – Church ceiling is painted and decorated by Friar Jerônimo da Graça;

1737 – Seated tiles in the chancel;

1738/40 – Completion by Friar Gervazio do Rosário of the cloister columns, gilding of the chancel and side altars, execution of the large altarpiece in S. Luis (today Coração de Jesus) at Cruzeiro;

1741/43 – Friar Manoel do Nascimento places the floor of the chancel; the great altarpiece of NS da Glória arrives from Portugal (crossing, Gospel side);

1749/52 – Friar Manoel de Santa Maria completes the works on the cloister and places the tiles; 1751 – The library's lining was carried out;

1752/55 – The gatehouse and altar are completed; the tiles would be placed in 1782.

6. Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos

Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos The church is located in the old Rua das Portas do Carmo in a triangular-shaped square in Pelourinho, created with the demolition of the knight and the gate that served as a defense to the city.

The Largo do Pelourinho, with its 1th century houses, is one of the most interesting urban spaces in Salvador. The square is part of the site listed by IPHAN (GP-XNUMX), which comprises areas of the Sé and Passo sub-districts.

Building of remarkable architectural merit. Headquarters of the Sisterhood of NS do Rosário of Black Men from Pelourinho or NS do Rosário from Portas do Carmo.

It was built by the brothers, in their spare time, over almost a century. Church with side aisles, with a courtyard in the background. It has an oratory located on the right side and on the same plane as the façade that opens onto the street, as in the churches of Boqueirão and Sto. Antônio Além do Carmo.

The ends of the tower are bulbous, covered with tiles. Inside there are tiles with scenes relating to the devotion to the Rosário de Lisboa, ca 1790. The altarpiece on the main altar is by João Simões F. de Souza (1870/71) and the ceiling painting is by José Pinto Lima (1870/ 71).

Among the imagery, NS do Rosário (XNUMXth century) stands out, already venerated in the old Cathedral, S. Benedito, St. Antônio de Catigerona and Crucified in ivory.

The original plan of this church, begun in 1704, seems not to have provided for side aisles, but for two narrow passages to the side of the chancel, connecting the nave with the transversal sacristy.

This party was widely adopted in the Franciscan churches of the Northeast and by architects from Minas, probably inspired by the church of S. Paulo de Braga (Port.). In Salvador there is another example of this party in the church of NS do Pilar.

The side aisles, tribunes, current façade and towers would only be built in 1780/81. In this way, the side aisles became, in a way, unnecessary, as they do not lead to the sacristy but to the backyard. The Church of the Third Order of S. Francisco has a hybrid plant of the same type.

Its façade remains faithful to the traditional Bahian model, which has its origins in the Parish Church of Maragogipe. However, the primitive pyramidal ending of the towers turns into a bulb with many bumps and the classical pediment is replaced by another Rococo of the type from the Belém da Cachoeira seminary. The interior features rococo-influenced pulpits and neo-classical altars (1870).

Architectural History

The Brotherhood of NS do Rosário dos Homens Pretos do Pelourinho was one of the first confraternities of blacks created in Brazil and initially operated in the former Cathedral;

1685 – The Brotherhood was erected and its commitment approved by the Cathedral of Bahia;

1704 – Archbishop D. Sebastião Monteiro da Vide grants authorization to build the church;

1710 – Religious acts were already celebrated; 1718 – The parish of Passos begins to function in the church, dismembered from the Sé. The Irmandade do SS. Sacramento do Passo tries to take possession of the church but the blacks appealed to the king and the sentence was favorable to them, only in 1736 was it decided to build the church in Passo;

1780/81 – Completed the new façade, two side aisles and the towers, by the master Caetano José da Costa;

1796 – Construction of the consistory begins;

1815/26 – Increased church and new reforms;

1870/71 – Radical reform of the church and construction of altars and the new altarpiece for the main altar, by the carver João Simões F. de Souza, with painting by José Pinto Lima dos Reis, who also painted the nave's ceiling;

1872 – Transformation of Casa da Mesa into Casa Forte and demolition of the Irmandade Cemetery;

1873/75 – Two new doors opened on the façade;

1894 – The ceiling of the Casa da Mesa hall and altar in the sacristy were built;

1895 – Vitoriano Eduardo de Oliveira completes the gilding of the church.

7. Church of the Blessed Sacrament on Rua do Passo

Santíssimo Sacramento Church on Rua do Passo on top of the hill in Pelourinho, hidden by the houses, the church has the sea behind it and in front of it a long staircase that invites to penance. A staircase that does not belong to him and is closed by bars, isolating itself from the mass of the building.

A staircase that, in itself, is a monument. In 1718, during the government of D. Sebastião Monteiro da Vide, the parish was created, in 1736 the new parish church was established, and in the following year, by royal order, subsidy was granted for the construction of the chancel. And little else is known about the story, except its classification by IPHAN in 1938.

The layout is typical of the matrixes from the beginning of the XNUMXth century, with side aisles overlaid by tribunes and a transversal sacristy. The steep slope of the land dictated the solution of superimposing the ossuary, the sacristy and the consistory on the same upright. The façade is made up of three bodies, two of which have pyramidal crowning towers and curved cymatia.

In the center, the three portals merge into a single set, carved in stone.

The central entablature opens in volutes to receive the window, which supports the oculus, which aligns with another oculus and the medallion on the pediment's axis, ending with the cross.

A succession of overlapping decorative elements, pointing the way upwards. Internally, the altarpieces are from the XNUMXth century, by known craftsmen.

Tiles from Lisbon (1750) cover the chancel and others, industrial (XNUMXth century), are arranged in the nave. The ceiling of the nave is attributed to António Pinto and António Dias and there are plenty of sacred-themed panels.

8. Jorge Amado House Foundation

Foundation House of Jorge Amado No. Pelourinho inaugurated on March 7, 1987, it operates in two large houses located in the heart of Largo do Pelourinho.

The cultural space -created to preserve, study and exhibit the work of the great Bahian novelist- brings together, on its four floors, the entire archive of Jorge Amado's works (books published in 60 countries on five continents, films, videotapes and photographs , as well as posters and objects related to the writer's life and productions).

There are also works by the novelist's wife, Zélia Gattai, elected a member of the ABL (Academia Brasileira de Letras) at the end of 2001.

9. City Museum

Installed in one of the most beautiful mansions in Pelourinho, it was inaugurated on July 5, 1973.

Linked to the Gregório de Mattos Foundation, it gathers, in its collection, traditional Bahia dolls, sculptures, tapestries, ceramics, cloth, ex-votos and rosaries, in addition to collections of life-size orixá images and pieces by personal use of the poet Castro Alves.

10. Tempostal Museum in Pelourinho

A museum with only postcards. Yes, it exists! It is located in Salvador, and has around 45 thousand items. The Tempostal Museum was founded in 1997, and has pieces resulting from the collection of its founder, Antônio Marcelino do Nascimento from Sergipe (13/06/1929 – 22/11/2006). The idea of ​​the name “tempostal” was given by Antônio himself.

The vast majority of the collection is made up of postcards.

Highlight for the Belle Époque collection, old landscape postcards from cities in Bahia and other states, as well as various images from other countries.

But the collection also includes postcards, dating from the end of the XNUMXth century, and Eucalol prints, the first in the collection and which have historical, artistic and documentary value.

This entire collection holds stories, customs, daily life, architecture and beliefs both from Bahia and from various parts of the world.

11. Benin House Museum

Museu Casa do Benin in Pelourinho, Salvador, inaugurated on May 6, 1988, resulted from the fruitful exchange maintained between Bahia and the African country Benin, through the city of Cotonou.

Belonging to the Gregório de Mattos Foundation, it has a colonial exterior and interior designed by the architect Lina Bo Bardi.

The collection features pieces of folk art from Cotonou, People's Republic of Benin, and temporary exhibitions by local artists.

12. Solar do Ferrão

Manor do Ferrão Located near the Largo do Pelourinho, the 5.000 square meter building has features from the second half of the 17th century.

In 1756, the Jesuits installed a Seminary in the building, which in the same century became the property of the Ferrão family. From then onwards it functioned as a residence for noble families, a theater and the headquarters of the Centro Operário.

In 1977, it was acquired by the Artistic and Cultural Heritage Foundation (now Ipac), which after the reform installed its administrative headquarters there.

13. Abelardo Rodrigues Museum

Abelardo Rodrigues Museum inaugurated on June 5, 1981 in Pelourinho, on the noble floor of Solar do Ferrão (1701 building), it houses the most valuable collection of private sacred art in Brazil.

There are 808 works of erudite and popular art from the 16th to the 19th centuries, including images, paintings, shrines, altars, crucifixes and carved fragments - exposed in an area of ​​536 square meters.

The pieces belonged to the Pernambuco collector Abelardo Rodrigues and were purchased by the State government.

14. Former Faculty of Medicine

The first medical school in the country, where the character Pedro Arcanjo, from “Tenda dos Milagres”, by Jorge Amado, served as a beadle.

It is currently being restored by the state government and private initiative and brings together three museums: the Afro-Brazilian (with a collection of African and Afro-Brazilian sacred art, 27 panels by Carybé on the orixás and photographs by the French anthropologist Pierre Verger); Archeology and Ethnology (with paintings, objects, photos and indigenous funeral urns); and the Memorial de Medicina (with books and theses on the subject).

15. Bahian Gastronomy Museum

Connected to the Senac Pelourinho complex, the Museu da Gastronomia Baiana (MGBA) is the first in Latin America completely dedicated to gastronomy.

Instead of presenting paintings and sculptures, the museum brings the stories of typical Bahian foods, such as acarajés, vatapás and moquecas, in addition to ethnic, social and cultural references that are part of Bahia's gastronomy.

The MGBA houses a theater, arena and restaurant. Right at the entrance, the visitor is faced with the Walls of Santa Catarina, the oldest and most important archaeological landmark in Salvador, which dates from the founding of the city.

The museum's collection consists of films, photos, models and utensils of various types of materials that help to synthesize the formation of Brazilian cuisine. Large photographic panels on various themes and signed by renowned photographers are also part of the collection.

In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum has specific installations on acarajé and cassava, in addition to rotating showcases with periodically alternating tributes.

On the way out, the visitor still walks through the souvenir shop, where you can buy jams, cookbooks or even have a coffee.

Veja Northeastern cuisine

Largo Cruzeiro de San Francisco

A cross in front of the São Francisco Church, in the Historic Center of Salvador.

It is a typical element of Franciscan urban participation.

Largo do Cruzeiro joins Terreiro de Jesus, forming an important architectural and historical complex in Salvador. 

Attractions of Pelourinho in Salvador da Bahia

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