Rio de Janeiro - Monte do Carmo (Nossa Senhora do Carmo)

In Rua 1 de Maráo, a side street off Rua do Ouvidor, are the church of the Monte do Carmo, a lay Carmelite order, and the parish church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Antiga Sé, which from 1808 to 1889 was the Capela Real (Chapel Royal). The two Carmelite churches are separated from one another only by a passage. The church of the Monte do Carmo, built from 1755 onwards, has a Baroque façade and a doorway of pedra de lioz. A notable feature is the white and gold carving by Mestre Valentim in the Chapel of the Noviciate. In the former Cathedral of Nossa Senhora da Antiga Sé (1761), which is richly decorated with carving, the most notable features are the silver high altar and a picture of Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Our Lady of Carmel). Mestre Valentim was responsible for all the carving (later almost completely destroyed by fire) in the church of Santa Cruz dos Militares, as well as for the wooden statues of St Matthew and St John. The adjoining museum displays both religious and military items. In a side street is the chapel of Nossa Senhora do Cabo da Boa Esperança (Our Lady of the Cape of Good Hope), the last surviving street oratory in the city.