Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
convent (
Convento do Carmo
) converted into a
pousada
(see p.228), and the
Igreja da
Ordem Terceira do Carmo
on the left, open to visitors and built mostly between 1702
and 1724. Inside is a small
Museu do Arte Sacra
that includes Chinese-influenced
carvings and statues from Macau and a venerated image of the Senhor dos Passos.
Museu Regional da Cachoeira
Praça da Aclamação 4 • Mon-Fri 8am-noon & 2-5pm, Sat & Sun 8am-noon • R$2 •
T
75 752 1123
On the west side of Praça da Aclamação, housed in the former townhouse of a plantation
owner dating from 1723, the
Museu Regional da Cachoeira
contains a collection of period
furniture from Rio de Janeiro, most belonging to one Baron de Cabo Frio.
Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Rosário
Rua Ana Néri and Praça 13 de Maio
The impressive
Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Rosário
was constructed between
1674 and 1754. As with most churches in Cachoeira, this one has been robbed all too
frequently and is usually shut, but if you can get in you'll see two huge, jaw-dropping
5m-high
azulejo
panels dating from the 1750s. Upstairs the
Museu das Alfaias
preserves
art works from the now ruined Convento São Francisco.
3
Museu Hansen Bahia
Rua 13 de Maio 13 • Tues-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-1pm • Free •
T
75 3425 1453
Housed in a renovated 1830 residence, the small
Museu Hansen Bahia
is dedicated
to the work of German engraver Karl Heinz Hansen (1915-78), who was born in
Hamburg, emigrated to Brazil in 1950 and settled in Salvador five years later. After
a spell back in Germany, he returned to Salvador for good in 1966, naturalized and
adopted the artistic name “Hansen Bahia”. From 1970 he spent the last years of his life
in São Felix and donated his work to this museum, including the startling
Via Crucis
series. You can also visit the
Museu-Casa
, in São Félix, the former home of the artist
(free - ask at the museum for current exhibits).
Capela de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda
Largo da Ajuda • Often closed • Free
Climb up the narrow, cobbled Rua da Ajuda, and you'll come to a peaceful little square
that contains the
Capela de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda
, the city's oldest church. Begun in
1595 and completed eleven years later, it just about qualifies as sixteenth century,
which makes it a rarity. Sadly, the simple but well-proportioned interior is usually
closed to visitors for fear of thieves, but if you knock on the door there might be
someone around to let you in.
Santa Casa da Misericórdia
Praça Doutor Milton • Mon-Fri 2-5pm • Free
A couple of blocks along Rua Lauro de Freitas past the market you'll come to the fine
Praça Doutor Milton, with its Baroque public fountain and the early eighteenth-
century bulk of the
Santa Casa da Misericórdia
, a colonial hospital from 1734, which
has a beautiful chapel and small garden attached.
WOODCARVERS OF CACHOEIRA
There's a lively tradition of
woodcarving
in Cachoeira and several sculptors have studios open
to the public. One of the best is
Louco Filho
(nephew of legendary Louco, who died in 1992),
who displays his wonderful elongated carvings in his studio at Rua 13 de Maio 18. Check out
also
Doidão
(aka José Cardoso de Araújo, another nephew of the original Louco)
at Ana Neri
42; both tend to open Mon-Fri 9am-4pm.
