Olinda - São Francisco / Nossa Senhora das Neves

São Francisco

N.S. das Neves

North-east of Praça do Carmo, in the upper town, is Largo de São Francisco, with the oldest ensemble of Franciscan architecture in Brazil: the friary of São Francisco (1577), with the chapel of Sant'Ana and the church of Nossa Senhora das Neves (1585). The walls of both buildings are faced with azulejos and the ceilings have paintings. In the sacristy of the church is a large and beautifully carved chest of the colonial period; in the chapel of the Third Order note particularly the arch at the crossing with its gilded carving.