Upper City Salvador da Bahia Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages
If a visitor tells their taxi driver that they want to go to the upper city, they will be taken to Praga Tome de Souza. A novel way of getting there, however, is to take the Elevador Lacerda, which for a nominal fee rapidly covers the 72 meters between Praia Cairu in the lower city (opposite the Mercado Modelo) and Praia Tome de Souza in the upper city (runs 5 a.m. to midnight). However, while the elevator is inexpensive, crowded conditions on board also attract pickpockets, and visitors are therefore advised to be watchful when using it. Opposite the "mountain station" stands the 17th-century Pago Municipal, where Salvador's City Council now meets. To its right is the splendid Palacio Rio Branco, which until 1979 was the Governor-General's mansion, but which since 1986 has been a museum with exhibits about the era of the GovernorGeneral in Bahia.
To the left of the Palaqio stands an unsightly government building that offends the eye. Pompously named Palacio Tome de Souza, this squat cement nightmare on pillars should be shunned, and the visitor should instead savor the satisfying view of the lower city, the harbor and All Saints' Bay, with the circular Forte Sao Marcelo in the foreground and Ilha de Itaparica in the background.
This panorama inspired contemporary author Antonio Riserio to write: "On a sunny day, Bahia is a cross between Africa and Latin America. In aesthetic terms this means: Salvador is a Baroque city that, despite its concrete monstrosities and frivolous postmodern facades, reaches out to the eye of the beholder; a city that is imaginatively giving birth between the capricious play of the sea and its cloister-crowned hills - to the elements of a veritable cultural melting pot."
If you continue past the city council building and then turn left, and go past Igreja da Miseric6rdia, you will arrive at the cathedral square, Praia da Se, which contains the Palacio Episcopal. One block further up the street, overlooking a gracious square known as Terreiro de Jesus, is the Catedral Basilica. This episcopal church was originally the house of worship for a Jesuit theological seminary that was planned to be much more extensive than the structure that was ultimately built. The cornerstone was laid in 1657, and the basic framework completed in 1672. Both the marble-like stones on the facade and the niche statues of Jesuit saints are of Portuguese origin. The interior is fairly spartan, but the whole edifice is crowned with a splendid vaulted coffered ceiling. Of interest as well are the 13 altars - each executed in a different Baroque style - and especially the sacristy, which is open to the public (an admission fee is charged). Its ceiling frescos and 17th-century Portuguese tiles (azulejos) make it one of the most magnificent churches in Latin America. The sacristy also contains a very large vestment cupboard decorated with inlays of tortoise shell, ivory and various tropical woods.
Flame trees with scarlet blossoms and a fountain that allegorizes the four most important rivers in Bahia transform Terreiro de Jesus, the square before the cathedral, into an oasis of upper city calm. There are even hammocks available (but only for sale!) from street vendors, who also sell lace dresses and jewelry. The Cantina da Loa at the corner of Rua Alfredo Brito beckons invitingly to both locals and tourists, who can sit at an outdoor table sipping a glass of fruit juice or an excellent cacha~a (sugar-cane spirits) cocktail as they look out over the endlessly fascinating pageant of plaza life. For the music-minded, concerts are held in the evenings upstairs at the Cantina. Next door stands the church of Sao Pedro dos Clerigos and, facing it, the Igreja de Sao Domingos, decorated with a rococo facade. Both structures date from the 18th century and are only open on Sundays.
The southern end of Terreiro de Jesus adjoins Praia Anchieta, a plaza of lesser size on which, after going past several jewelry shops and art galleries, you reach the Igreja de Sao Francisco. If the amount of gilding were a measure of a church's wealth, this would have to be regarded as the wealthiest in all Brazil. Construction was begun in 1798, but the cloister next door dates from 1686. The church packs a large - and to the modern eye perhaps excessive - quantity of Baroque decorative exuberance into a relatively small space. But the gilded cherubs, dark rosewood sculptures and tiled murals in the atrium depicting the life of St. Francis of Assisi lend the church a soothing harmony.
During colonial times, a separate room adjoining the nave was provided for the exclusive use of slaves, who were encouraged to attend mass but were forbidden to cast their eyes upon their masters while worshiping. Well worth setting aside time for is a visit to the Stations of the Cross, which is open to the public after years of restoration work. The 37 painted wall tiles, executed in the 18th century by anonymous Portuguese artists, address some of the 103 quasi-religious philosophical themes contained in the Teatro Moral de la Vida Humana, the "Moral Drama of Human Life," published by Rubens' teacher Otto van Veen in 1608. Home truths such as "In unity there is strength," "Money rules the world" and "Money can buy anything" are elucidated with scenes from antiquity.
The facade of the Franciscan church just next door and to the left, Igreja da Terceira Ordem de Sao Francisco, is particularly noteworthy. Exuberantly decorated with stone sculptures, it recalls colonial churches in Mexico and Peru, and is the only Baroque ecclesiastical facade of its kind in Brazil.
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