Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
exquisitely maintained there is enough peeling wall and crumbling plaster to give a
sense of great antiquity. You enter through the
Capela da Senhora Sant' Ana
, which
leads into a cloister adorned with sixteen tiled
azulejo
panels depicting the life of
St Francis of Assisi, created 1734-35 (all have good English labels). To the left is the
main church,
Nossa Senhora das Neves
, with the highlight the attached
Capela de São
Roque
with its gilded altarpiece and painted ceiling. The
sacristy
at the back contains
a gorgeous Baroque cabinet carved from jacaranda wood, while behind the convent
there's a grand patio with the original seventeenth-century well and views of the ocean.
Museu Regional de Olinda
Rua do Amparo 128 • Tues-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm • R$1 •
T
81 3493 0018
The eighteenth-century former residence of the Bishop of Olinda now houses the
Museu Regional de Olinda
, a collection of miscellaneous historical objects, from antique
furniture, paintings and panels to religious art, including an altar that once stood in the
Igreja da Sé.
Museu do Mamulengo
Rua São Bento 344 • Tues-Sun 10am-5pm • R$2 •
T
81 3493 2753
The most enticing museum in Olinda is the
Museu do Mamulengo
, its galleries and
passages festooned with flowery wallpaper and an excellent collection of traditional
puppets (with English labelling), arranged by theme and type. Don't miss the hand-
turned mechanical diorama downstairs, and the depictions of bandit Lampião on the
upper floor.
4
Museu de Arte Contemporânea
Rua 13 de Maio • Tues-Sun 9am-5pm • R$5 •
T
81 3184 3153
Serious modern art is to be found in the
Museu de Arte Contemporânea
, set in a
handsome building dating from 1756 and once used as a jail by the Inquisition.
Exhibits tend to change, but the permanent collection includes work from Brazilian
artists Portinari, Cícero Dias, Telles Junior, Wellington Virgolino, Burle Max and
Francisco Brennand.
Basilica e Mosteiro de São Bento
Rua de São Bento • Daily 9am-11am & 2-5pm • Free (donation requested) •
T
81 3429 3288
he grand
Basilica e Mosteiro de São Bento
bookends Rua de São Bento, with palm
trees swaying in the courtyard, and brown-robed monks still attending daily prayers.
It's another institution destroyed by the Dutch, then slowly rebuilt between 1654 and
1759. The Benedictine monastery section is off limits but the church interior is open,
its lavish
retábulo
(main altarpiece) seemingly solid gold, the apse further enhanced by
ornate ceiling paintings.
Igreja Santo Antônio do Carmo
Praça do Carmo (enter at the back) • Daily 9am-5pm • R$2 donation requested •
T
81 3429 2892
Majestically sited on a small hill overlooking Praça do Carmo, the fresh-looking
Igreja
Santo Antônio do Carmo
dates from 1720 but was given a pristine makeover in 2012,
though it remains quite subdued in terms of ornamentation. The main exception is the
lavish gold
retábulo
inside, a flamboyant Rococo-Baroque hybrid.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
OLINDA
By bus
From Recife, take bus #983 or #992 from Rua do Sol
(every 20-30min); from Boa Viagem, take bus #910 (every
30min). The fare is R$3.35. Buses follow the seafront road
(PE-001 aka Av Sigismundo Gonçalves); get off in Praça do
Carmo, just by Olinda's main post o
ce, from where it's a
2min walk up into the old city.
By taxi
A taxi from Boa Viagem should be around
R$30-35 (on the meter), and around R$25-30 from the
city centre. From Recife bus station reckon on at least R$50,
and R$60 from the airport.
