We spent the day in Olinda on Good Friday, as my husband enjoyed two Brazilian federal holidays. We were going to meet friends there and on the way noticed that the Sao Bento Bascilia had its doors open. Outside was wonderful, and inside awaited an amazing, holy space.
This structure was built in the 1600s and is still an operating monastery in Olinda. It was quite impressive. Learn more (in Portuguese) from Wikipedia.
Sao Bento in Olinda, Brazil
Big, impressive doors
Big, impressive golden altar
Inside, the magnificent high altar of cedar wood and fully gold-plated was built between 1783 and 1786. This gilded alter is one of the most beautiful and significant examples of gilt in Brazil. In 1860 it was given a makeover with new gilding. Restored in 2001, was the subject of controversy, whether to be disassembled to be exhibited in New York in 2002 as the main attraction of the exhibition Brazil: Body and Soul, performed at the Guggenheim Museum, later returning to their place of origin.
Big, impressive ceiling, handpainted.
Big, impressive statue in the Bascilica Sao Bento, Olinda.
Big, impressive cross
Tags: gilded altar pictures, gold plated altar, good friday brazil, sao bento olinda, st. benedict olinda
