The Igreja de São Francisco in Salvador da Bahia is probably the most beautiful and impressive church in the city. From the outside, the Franciscan church looks rather plain, but inside, the unbelievably lavish gold jewellery takes your breath away.
The Igreja de São Francisco in Pelourinho, a beautiful neighbourhood of Salvador da Bahia in Brazil, is an important monument of Brazilian colonial architecture with its accompanying monastery. The city's most magnificent baroque church is one of our top 10 sights in Salvador da Bahia. It is located at the end of Praça Anchieta and is easily visible from the famous Terreiro de Jesus square. At the square in front of the church, you are greeted by a monumental cross.
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PICTURES: Igreja de São Franisco in Salvador da Bahia
The first church of the Franciscan Order in Salvador da Bahia was built by the Franciscan friar Melchior de Santa Catarina together with the monastery as early as 1587, but was destroyed in the course of the Dutch invasion. The current monastery was begun almost a century later, in 1686, and waited decades for completion.
The construction of the Igreja de São Francisco followed in 1708 and was completed by 1723. However, the decoration of the interior continued well into the 18th century and attracted a large number of renowned artists. In 1755, the majority of the interior was also finalised.
Magnificent architecture of the Igreja de São Francisco
The Igreja de São Francisco looks rather plain from the outside. Its architecture is based on the Mannerist style and was probably also inspired by the Catedral Basílica de Salvador at the nearby Terreiro de Jesus.
The façade decoration is limited and the two lime-white bell towers have hardly any ornamentation at all. The most unusual thing about the Igreja de São Francisco is that, unlike most other single-nave Franciscan churches in the north-east of Brazil, it has three naves.
But when you enter the Igreja de São Francisco, your breath is taken away and you suddenly know why the interior decoration of the church took almost 150 years to complete. An immeasurable wealth of carvings, sculptures and gold ornaments is revealed wherever you look. Seemingly every millimetre of wall, floor, column and ceiling space was used for the fantastic decoration.
The Igreja de São Francisco is the most complete and imposing example of Portuguese-Brazilian carving. Estimates amount to the use of a tonne of gold.
The altar is decorated all over with gold and guarded by birds and angels, the ceiling consists of an incredible variety of masterfully carved and painted panels.
The lower part of the wall in the main chapel is decorated with blue and white tile paintings from Lisbon depicting the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. These so-called "azulejos" were created in 1737 by the Portuguese artist Bartolomeu Antunes de Jesus.
The Franciscan convent is not as lavishly decorated as the Igreja de São Francisco, but it is also one of the most important examples of Baroque art. The wooden ceiling of the entrance hall was painted in 1774 by José Joaquim da Rocha, who also decorated the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia in the lower town of Salvador, and the blue and white tile paintings from Lisbon can also be found here again.
For a small entrance fee, visitors can marvel at the incredible splendour of the Igreja de São Francisco, but photography with a flash is not allowed.
Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco
Right next to the magnificent Igreja de São Francisco is the hardly less magnificent Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco. The church of the Third Franciscan Order was built at the beginning of the 18th century and is also a baroque masterpiece.
Its overwhelming façade decoration was hidden behind plaster for a long time and was only rediscovered and extensively renovated at the beginning of the 20th century. In contrast to the simple façade of the Igreja de São Francisco, this one is bursting with sculptures, reliefs, garlands and wreaths.
The interior of the Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco is also worth seeing, especially the ceiling paintings by Franco Velasco, the azulejos from Portugal and the remarkable paintings in the cloister. Sacred artefacts, statues and liturgical vestments can be seen in a small museum.
