page_title: Church and Convent of São Francisco, Salvador
section_title: Structure
hierarchical_section_title: Church and Convent of São Francisco, Salvador / Structure
caption_attribution_description: Interior of Sao Francisco Church in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
context_page_description: The São Francisco Church and Convent of Salvador is located in the historical centre of Salvador, in the State of Bahia, Brazil. The ornate Church of the Third Order of Saint Francis sits adjacent to the convent. The friars of the Franciscan Order arrived in Salvador in 1587 and constructed a convent and church on the site. This structure was destroyed by the Dutch during the Dutch invasions of Bahia in the next century; Father Vicente das Chagas initiated the current structure in 1686, which was completed in the 18th century. The Franciscan church and convent have the largest number of azulejos, 55,000, of any church in Latin America.
  The convent and its church are important colonial monuments in Brazil. It was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1938. The convent, church, and Church of the Third Order are one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World and form integral parts of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Center of Salvador.
context_section_description: Major elements of the church are constructed of Bahian sandstone, including the walls, pilasters, and façade; some sandstone existed on the Itapagipe Peninsula in the 18th century, but later sandstone elements were brought from Jaguaribe and Velha Boipeba in the interior of Bahia. The eight massive columns that support the choir are of Bahian sandstone and display clasts characteristic of sandstone the region.
  The church consists of a nave and chancel; transept; choir; lateral corridors; a vestibule which serves as an entrance; a sala do capítulo, a large cloister; which serves as a meeting room for the order; sacristy; library; and numerous rooms that serve the convent.
  The Church of São Francisco of Salvador is unusual among Franciscan houses of Northeast Brazil in that it has a nave with three aisles, while most other Franciscan churches of the region have only one aisle. Three lateral chapels are located on each of the lateral aisles. The church has a rectangular shape without protruding transept arms and a main chapel. The floorplan seems influenced by the São Francisco Church of Oporto (actually a Gothic building) and the Jesuit plans of São Roque in Lisbon and the Jesuit Church of Salvador.
caption: Nave of the church. Note the exuberant golden woodwork that cover all surfaces
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