Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BONFIM FESTIVALS
Salvador's two main popular festivals of the year, besides Carnaval (see p.223), take place
either in or near the Igreja do Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (see opposite). On New Year's Day the
Procissão no Mar
, the “Sea Procession”, sees statues of the seafarers' protectors, Nosso Senhor
dos Navegantes and Nossa Senhora da Conceição, carried in a decorated nineteenth-century
boat across the bay from the old harbour to the church of Boa Viagem where thousands wait
to greet them. Nossa Senhora da Conçeicão is then taken back by land in another procession
to her church near the foot of the Lacerda elevator. The celebrations around both churches go
on for hours, with thousands drinking and dancing the night away.
On the second Thursday of January comes the
Lavagem do Bonfim
, “the washing of
Bonfim”, second only to Carnaval in scale. Hundreds of
baianas
, women in the traditional
all-white costume of turban, lace blouse and a billowing long skirt, gather in front of the Igreja
de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, and a procession follows them along the 12km seafront to
the Igreja do Bonfim, with tens of thousands more lining the route. At the church, everyone
sets to scrubbing the square spotless, cleaning the church and decorating the exterior with
flowers and strings of coloured lights. That evening, and every evening until Sunday, raucous
celebrations go on into the wee hours, and the square is crowded with people. If you have the
stamina, the focus switches on Monday to
Ribeira
, the headland beyond Bonfim, for a
completely secular preview of Carnaval.
3
Vitória and Barra
Some 4km south of the
centro histórico
, Avenida 7 de Setembro runs along the bay
through the leafy, middle-class suburb of
Vitória
, home to several intriguing museums
and where the coast is blocked off by posh condos with their own lifts down to the
water. he road ends at
Barra
, a lively neighbourhood of mid-range hotels, restaurants
and bars popular with Brazilian tourists, and a couple of beaches: the
Praia Porto da
Barra
, always heaving with sunbathers and swimmers, and the quieter
Praia do Farol da
Barra
, popular with surfers. Barra also boasts three Portuguese-era forts, though only
one,
Forte de Santo Antônio
, is open to the public.
Museu de Arte da Bahia
Av 7 de Setembro 2340, Vitória • Tues-Fri 1-7pm, Sat & Sun 2-7pm • Free •
T
71 3117 6902 • Local buses and the
executivo
service to
Barra via Vitória leave from the Praça da Sé
he
Museu de Art da Bahia
is housed in a gorgeous Neoclassical confection, the
Palácio da Vitória, built in 1925 for the state education and health department, but
incorporating many features from older buildings. The small galleries here contain a
focused collection of Bahian landscapes and decorative arts from the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, including furniture, beds, Chinese porcelain, glassware and
Baroque paintings from the Bahian School, including some of the best works by
José
Teófilo de Jesus
.
Museu Carlos Costa Pinto
Av 7 de Setembro 2490, Vitória • Mon & Wed-Sat 2.30-7pm • R$8 •
T
71 3336 6081,
W
museucostapinto.com.br
Set in a modern “US-colonial style” mansion completed in 1958, amid tranquil
gardens, the
Museu Carlos Costa Pinto
contains a precious and eclectic collection of
fine and decorative arts. The collection was put together by businessman Carlos de
Aguiar Costa Pinto (1885-1946) and donated to the city by his wife - the building
was to have been the family home, but it was never lived in. The museum features
rooms dedicated to antique crystal from the Baccarat glassworks in France, ornate
tortoiseshell fans, Japanese lacquerware, ivory carvings from Goa, dazzling silverware
and the spectacular gold jewellery and silver amulets traditionally worn by creole
women. There's also an intriguing modern painting exhibit to counter all that
religious art elsewhere, with the vaguely Impressionistic work of local boy Prisciliano
Silva, and the naturalistic art of Alberto Valença.
