EnglishChurch and Convent of Mount Carmel
São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil
Religious Architecture
This convent stands in a dominant position overlooking the Largo do Carmo, which is still the great social and commercial centre of the city. Built in 1627 by the Calced Carmelites of Pernambuco, it served as a fortress during the Dutch invasion (1644) and also in 1829. Later on, it became a public library and school. It underwent major remodelling work in 1865-1866, when the façade with two towers and very simple lines was covered with Portuguese tiles. In 1908, it still had a front staircase, later converted into two side ones with a fountain with dolphins made of lias stone from Lisbon, in order to facilitate entry. The convent has seven windows overlooking the square; it is currently in the hands of Italian friars, who have radically modernised it with the use of concrete in order to serve as a school. The church has clear and well preserved links with the 17th century (two towers flanking the rectilinear pediment and a façade with a baroque portal and three simple windows), with colonial tiles in the sacristy and arcades and the old side aisles. It is also linked to the Chapel of Guia on the island of Medo (1616) and the Lazaretto of Our Lord of Bonfim (1718). In 1821, the convent had eleven friars, five estates and 258 slaves.