Santana Cathedral, Cathedral in Barra do Piraí, Brazil.

Santana Cathedral is a church in Barra do Piraí, Rio de Janeiro state, built in 1881 by José Pereira de Faro, the 3rd Baron of Rio Bonito. Its white exterior has arched doors and windows, a circular clock in the pediment and a pointed bell tower with high-relief designs on the walls. Inside, the original plank floor and linked chair-like pews remain, and the walls are hand-painted by artists of the Brazilian Empire.

The cornerstone was laid on 7 August 1864 in the presence of Emperor Dom Pedro II, invited by José Pereira de Faro, 3rd Baron of Rio Bonito. The church was built in 1881 by the Baron, who brought foreign architects, painters and masons from Rio de Janeiro. It became a cathedral on 4 December 1922, and the Diocese of Barra do Piraí was installed on 26 July 1923 by the bull Ad Supremum Apostolicae Sedis.

The church is also called Sant'Anna Cathedral, after Saint Anne, to whom it is dedicated. Its walls are hand-painted by artists of the Brazilian Empire: the lower half imitates curtains, the upper half shows sacred scenes, and the ceiling reproduces the Immaculate Conception. Two crystal pendant chandeliers hang inside, and the gilded high altar holds an old image of Our Lady of Saint Anne.

The cathedral stands in Barra do Piraí, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, not in the city of Rio. The sacristy holds an oil painting by Victor Meirelles of the 3rd Baron of Rio Bonito, owned by the diocesan mitre. Look for the two crystal pendant chandeliers and the gilded high altar with relief designs.

In the sacristy hangs an oil portrait of the 3rd Baron of Rio Bonito, José Pereira de Faro, painted by Victor Meirelles and owned by the diocesan mitre. Two crystal pendant chandeliers hang inside, and the gilded high altar with high-relief designs holds an old image of Our Lady of Santana.