Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia

The first capital of Brazil

Founded in 1549 on a small peninsula that separates Todos os Santos Bay from the Atlantic Ocean on the northeast coast of Brazil, Salvador de Bahia became Portuguese America’s first capital and remained so until 1763. Its founding and historic role as colonial capital associate it with the theme of world exploration.

Salvador de Bahia’s historic centre – an eminent example of Renaissance urban structuring adapted to a colonial site – is the Cidade Alta (Upper Town), a defensive, administrative and residential neighbourhood perched atop an 85m-high escarpment.

This densely built colonial city par excellence of the Brazilian northeast is distinguished by its religious, civil and military colonial architecture dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Salvador de Bahia is also notable as one of the major points of convergence of European, African and American Indian cultures of the 16th to 18th centuries.

The settlement of Salvador de Bahia, strategically situated overlooking an immense bay on the Brazilian coast, was aimed at centralising the activities of the metropolis in Portuguese America and facilitating trade with Africa and the Far East. The city grew quickly, becoming Brazil’s main seaport and an important centre of the sugar industry and the slave trade.

There are many streets lined with brightly coloured houses, often decorated with fine stucco-work, that are characteristic of the colonial city. Salvador de Bahia was also, from 1558, the first slave market in the New World, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations. Echoes of this multicultural past survive to the present day in the historic centre’s rich tangible and intangible heritage.

Salvador de Bahia is an eminent example of Renaissance urban structuring adapted to a colonial site having an upper city of a defensive, administrative and residential nature which overlooks the lower city where commercial activities revolve around the port.

The density of monuments, with Ouro Preto (included on the World Heritage List in 1980), makes it the colonial city par excellence in the Brazilian northeast.

Salvador de Bahia is one of the major points of convergence of European, African and American Indian cultures of the 16th to 18th centuries.

Its founding and historic role as capital of Brazil quite naturally associate it with the theme of world exploration already illustrated by the inclusion on the World Heritage List of the Old Havana (1982), Angra do Heroismo (1983), San Juan de Puerto Rico (1983) and Cartagena (1984).

Church and Convent of São Francisco

The São Francisco Church and its adjacent convent are located in the Pelourinho district and represented by two historical buildings ranked among the most outstanding expressions of Brazilian Baroque style.

Built in the 17th and 18th centuries, the sober facade of the complex hides its lush interior.

It is listed as a National Heritage Site by the National Artistic and Historical Heritage Institute and is considered one of the Seven Portuguese Wonders of the World.

Church of Senhor do Bonfim

The construction of Senhor do Bonfim Church started in 1754 and it was only completed nearly 20 years later. Featuring a Portuguese colonial architecture, with two bell towers on each side, the Church stands out for its size and its special positioning in Sagrada Colina [Sacred Hill].

It is one of Salvador’s most traditional churches and one of the greatest symbols of the local religious syncretism. Known by the Catholics’ faith in the city’s patron saint, the Church also represents elements of Candomblé, where the Saint joins Oxalá, the father of all Orixás.

Lavagem do Bonfim, a ritual held in January during which Bahia women walk to the Church to the sound of African chants to wash its steps with scented water.