Object description

The Church and Monastery of Our Lady of Monserrate is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church and monastery located in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The church and monastery are dedicated to Our Lady of Monserrate and belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia. It is located 200 metres from the Fort of Monserrate on a rock on the Itapagipe Peninsula. The date of construction of the structure is disputed; it dates to the 16th century, and has seen numerous alterations. The church was built either by the Spanish, or by the group that constructed the Garcia d'Ávila Tower House. Its design, along with that of numerous rural chapels of Bahia, is attributed to the Italian architect Baccio da Filicaia . The church interior was once lined entirely with 16th-century azulejos; now only a single strip of the tiles remain. The church was listed as a historic structure by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute in 1958. It and the Chapel of Our Lady of the Ladder are the only remaining 16th-century chapels in Salvador.