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Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Antiga Sé

The building of the Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, dedicated to

Our Lady of Mount Carmel,

started around 1761 and it was consacrated in 1770 (still unfinished).

 

When Queen Maria I of Portugal died,

Prince John VI was crowned King of Portugal in this church (in 1816).

 

Prince Pedro, future Emperor of Brazil

as Pedro I , married Princess Leopoldina of Austria in the chapel in 1817.

 

With the declaration of the Independence of Brazil in 1822, the church became the Imperial Chapel.

The façade was completed around this time.

 

Important events in the Imperial Chapel include the coronations of Emperor Pedro I (1822) and his successor, Pedro II (1841); the baptism of Princess Isabel (1846) and the marriage of the Princess with Gaston, comte d'Eu (1864).

 

Rio de Janeiro

October 5th 2009

COMMENTS
Wildthing said at 9:22 a.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Beautiful interior shots of this prestigious old cathedral.
Charlespop said at 9:26 a.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Wow. what a place ! One of these days I must visit Rio !
RosaneMar said at 9:46 a.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Wonderful pictures Eduardo!!!
Debdog said at 9:54 a.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
amazing inside!!!!
Eduardo.affonso said at 10:51 a.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
MIKE, ROSANE & DEBBIE: This is one of the most important churches in Rio, and has just been restored. No surprise it was the royal family's favorite church.

CHARLES: Do you still need any more reasons to visit Rio? Are not World Cup, Olympic Games, Carnivals and a caipirinha with me at the beach enough??
Ira said at 11:23 a.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Majestic architecture!
SnowWhite said at 1:33 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
An amazing beautiful interior , so unexpected from the outside :)
Rita.Mandarino said at 1:48 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Ela é linda mesmo e depois da restauração ficou um espetáculo. Vc e suas igrejas...
EMA said at 2:36 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Um interior resplandecente. Detalhes fabulosos. Lindíssma igreja e reportagem fotográfica perfeita! :)
Jesusgoz said at 3:03 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Eduardo, Our Lady of Mount Carmel ¿tuvo algo que ver en lo de las olimpiadas?
Eduardo.affonso said at 3:10 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
No lo creo, JESUS. El santo encargado de ayudar Rio és San Sebastián... (el nombre original de esta olímpica ciudad és São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro).

EDITE: O estranho é que esta igreja, com tanta história (sagração de um rei de Portugal, coroação de dois imperadores, batizado e casamento de uma princesa) é quase desconhecida dos cariocas. Esteve fechada por muito tempo, para restauro (e só voltou a ter este interior resplandecente por ocasião das comemorações dos 200 anos da vinda da família real para o Brasil, em 2008).

RITA: Ainda vou entender essa minha obsessão por igrejas, ruínas e cemitérios.

LORRAINE: The façade is very austere compared to the barroque interior, because it was alterated through the centuries.

IRA: It is too ornamented for my taste (well, that's barroque...) but I do like the constrat between the while walls and the golden reliefs.
Sonnia said at 4:04 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Igreja maravilhosa, fotos incríveis!!! Parabéns por mais um tabblo cheio de poesia...
Merja-zerga said at 5:33 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Un lieu de méditation imposant.
Il y a un fort contraste entre le faste de l'interieur de cette église et son exterieur.
On comprend que sa rénovation est un lien direct avec la famille royale...
Merci Edu.
ThierryKarine
NeusinhaGedoz said at 5:47 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Lindo tabblo, Eduardo. Fotos com ângulos interessantes... imagens encantadoras.
Lange said at 6:04 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Eu gosto como voce vê as igrejas, de uma maneira bem independente sem misticismo, ela fica com a roupa que voce quer dar. Mais um que eu fico fascinada.
Leftofcenter said at 6:20 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Another beautiful church. I remember a friend of mine who had just visited Vatican City and told me that all the gaudiness had helped him become an atheist...
Liliana said at 6:56 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
Espectacular, inhumano su tamaño... Es una iglesia que, no sé por qué, se me hace fría... ¿Será tanta blancura o el metal del oro? Fotos fantásticas. ¡¡Qué contraste entre la austeridad de afuera y el interior!! Excelente esa foto que toma la escalera con un piso que se abre como en forma de abanico.
Liliana said at 9:08 p.m. on Oct 6, 2009:
¡¡¡¡Me puedo imaginar todos esos casamientos y coronaciones ahí!!!! Vuelvo a mi primera palabra: espectacular, por algo la había escrito, ahora veo: esos son espectáculos... No voy a caer en nada más profundo como religión-ritos-espectáculos ni nada así, no te asustes.
Mirella said at 2:04 a.m. on Oct 7, 2009:
Un barocco veramente regale!!!!!Mi piace la foto dell pavimento intersiato circolare. Ciao
Chilla said at 11:54 a.m. on Oct 7, 2009:
This is a beautiful interior. Sometimes the heavily decorated churches appear very dark, but somehow this building is very light in spite of all the ornamentation! A lovely Tabblo Eduardo.
Shenresi said at 1:32 p.m. on Oct 8, 2009:
beautyful tabblo, Eduardo!!!
Candlepower said at 2:28 p.m. on Oct 8, 2009:
So beautiful and so old! Magnificent! A Fav!
Loes said at 4:21 p.m. on Oct 8, 2009:
A very beautiful and imposing cathedral Eduardo!
FoguinhoFoto said at 12:35 p.m. on Oct 11, 2009:
LINDO,TABBLO.
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