SOUTHEAST BRAZIL - Brazil - page 132

Catedral
Metropolitana 1
Praça da Sé, Centro. Map 1 C3.
Tel [phone].

overlooking an extensive
forest. The original wattle-
and-daub shack, built for
them by their Guaraní
cohorts, eventually became
a school. That school became
a church, and around the
church arose the buildings
that formed the core of the
original city of São Paulo.
In 1760, the Jesuits were
expelled from the city, but
the college and chapel they
founded remained and came
to be known as the Pátio do
Colégio. In 1886, the tower of
the original church collapsed
and the whole building
was demolished.
Upon their return in 1954,
the Jesuits immediately set
about building an exact replica
of their original church and
college, which is what stands
today as Pátio do Colégio.
Most of the buildings are
occupied by the Museu Padre
Anchieta , named after the
Jesuit captain who led the
first mission. The collection
features a Modernist portrait
of the priest, by the Italian
artist Menghini, some
of the priest's rem-
ains, a 17th-century
font used to baptize
indigenous people,
as well as a collection
of Guaraní artifacts
from the colonial era.
A model reprod-
uction of São Paulo
in the 16th century
is also on display.

Q Praça da Sé.

# 8am-1pm & 3-6pm daily. 8

5 8:30am, 2pm & 6pm Mon; noon

Tue-Sat, 9am, 11am & 5pm Sun.

At the heart of old downtown
São Paulo, the towering
Catedral Metropolitana (also
known as Catedral da Sé)
watches over the large
pebbled Praça da Sé , shaded
by tropical fig and palm trees.
Built between 1912 and 1954,
the cathedral finally gained
its full complement of 14
turrets in 2002.
Built by Maximiliano Hell,
the exterior is a fusion of
Neo-Gothic and Renaissance,
with an overly narrow nave
squeezed between two enor-
mous 318-ft (97-m) high
spires and a bulbous copper
cupola. The cavernous
interior, said to seat up to
8,000 people, looks starkly
European. The only obvious
local influences are visible in
the capitals, delicately carved
with distinctly Brazilian flora
and fauna. The stained-glass
windows were designed
in Germany and Brazil.
The cathedral's façade has
watched over the country's
largest public protests, when
crowds gathered in the square
outside the cathedral in the
late 1980s to demand the
end of military rule.

Carved altar in the interior of Igreja
de São Francisco de Assis

Igreja de São
Francisco de
Assis 2
Largo de São Francisco 133. Map
1 A3. Tel [phone].

Q Praça

da Sé. # 7:30am-8pm daily. ^

Immediately to the
west of Catedral
Metropolitana is
the Igreja de São
Francisco de Assis,
one of the city's
oldest churches.
Parts of the modest
Baroque interior,
featuring an intric-
ately carved altar
and ornaments, date
from the mid-1600s.
The church is often
referred to as O Convento São
Francisco after the exquisite
Baroque convent that stood
here until the 1930s, when it
was demolished along with
parts of the colonial center.

Visão de Anchieta
by Menghini

Mosteiro
São Bento 4
Largo de São Bento. Map 1 C2 .
Tel [phone].

Q São Bento.

# 7am-6pm Mon-Fri, 7am-noon

Sat & Sun. 7am, 1pm & 6pm

Mon-Fri, 6am Sat, 8:30am & 10am
Sun. www .mosteiro.org.br

5

Pátio do Colégio 3
Praça Pátio do Colégio 2. Map 2 D3 .
Q Praça da Sé. # 9am-5pm Tue-

Brazil is the only South
American country where the
Benedictine order gained a
foothold, arriving in São
Paulo on this site in 1598. The
current building, however,
dates from the 1920s and was
designed by Munich-based
architect Richard Bernl.
The monastery has a
beautifully painted Beuronese
interior. This style is named

Sun. noon-2pm Mon-Fri, 10am-

noon Sun. Museu Padre Anchieta
Tel [phone].

5

& ^

Within easy walking distance
from the Praça da Sé, the Pátio
do Colégio has an interesting
history behind it. On January
25, 1554, the Jesuits inaugu-
rated the Colégio de São Paulo
de Piratinga on a small bluff

Exterior of São Paulo Catedral
Metropolitana, Praça da Sé

For hotels and restaurants in this region see p374 and pp399-401