BASÍLICA E MOSTEIRO DE SÃO BENTO

The city of Recife has long been the great competitor of the other great city of the Nordeste: Salvador de Bahia. If the history of Brazil is relatively recent from that of the old world or South and East Asia, it is no less rich. Intense activity has animated the quays of the ports of these cities. The opulence of the religious buildings was often the expression of the material wealth of the societies. The Basilica and Monastery of São Bento represent an important Baroque architectural complex classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The foundation of the monastery dates back to the early days of Portuguese colonization: its first version was completed in 1599, before being destroyed by fire during the Dutch invasion in 1631. It was rebuilt and put back into use in 1656, and later enlarged, and the first stones of the church of São Bento (dedicated to St Benedict) were laid in 1660 (it was not completed until 1761). The sacristy of the latter is one of the most richly decorated in Olinda: furniture carved in cedar, crystal mirrors and painted panels lining the walls, a painted ceiling recounting the life of St Benedict (work of Eloy José da Conceição of 1785), an altarpiece framed in gold, and a panel depicting Our Lady of Sorrows. In 1998, the church of the Monastery of St. Benedict was elevated to the status of Basilica by Pope John Paul II.