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Parish Church of Saint Antony (Glaura)
Ouro Preto, Vila Rica, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Religious Architecture
Casa Branca was the original name of the settlement where the parish of Santo António do Campo was created in 1748. The works of the definitive church, made of stone, began around 1751, to replace the wooden chapel that had existed there since 1723 on another plot of land. The main contractor of the building work was Tiago Moreira, but there are records mentioning the participation of other artisans (Francisco da Costa, Clemente João, Francisco de Lima and António Moreira Gomes, among others). The fine baroque altarpieces were taken from the original chapel; their construction has been attributed to the master carver Valério de Souza Romeiro and the gilding to António da Costa. The date of “1764” inscribed near the cross of the frontispiece probably alludes to the completion of the main body of the building, since, in around 1789, the vicar asked for funds from the Crown in order to finish the chancel and sacristy. The façade is composed of two square towers with a square cross section with pinnacles, a pediment with volutes and a circular oculus. The church was listed in 1962.
Cláudia Damasceno Fonseca