EnglishChurch of Our Lady of Protection
Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil
Religious Architecture
In 1613, a church stood halfway along a path which started in Olinda’s Quatro Cantos business district and met another that continued on to the Church of Our Lady of the Mount. Coming from a different direction, people also used the same path by the hillside to reach the seashore. There were actually two churches facing each other at that midpoint, one dedicated to Our Lady of Protection and the other to Saint John the Baptist of the Military. Their courtyards adjoined, forming a beautiful landscape composition. Interestingly, the first church was destroyed in a fire lit by the Dutch in 1631, but was soon rebuilt on a bigger scale (with a well-wrought portal bearing its construction date – 1644) while the area was still under foreign rule. Inside, the new church is arranged in the usual fashion of the time, i.e. with a nave, chancel and aisles on both sides, one accessing the sacristy and the other the consistory of the Brotherhood devoted to the same patron saint. In 1780, rococo adornment was added in the chancel and then the nave. A 17th-century tile panel depicting themes that were still typical of the Mannerist style is located in the upper part of the nave. The edifice has been restored and is a tourist attraction, besides hous- ing a restoration workshop.