Capela de Nossa Senhora Santana, Portuguese colonial chapel in Ilhéus, Brazil.
Capela de Nossa Senhora Santana is a small stone and limestone chapel with a single nave, main altar, sacristy, and entrance porch. The structure features an incomplete T-shaped design with a bell tower and a conversation window in the sacristy area.
The lands were acquired from Jorge de Figueiredo, donatário of the Ilhéus captaincy, by the family of Mem de Sá and donated in 1563 by the Countess of Linhares to the Jesuits of the Colégio de Santo Antão de Lisboa, who set up the Inês and Sant'Ana farms and built the chapel in the 17th century. After the order's expulsion the estate passed to the crown, and in 1810 it was bought by Felisberto Caldeira Brant, later Viscount of Barbacena.
The chapel's name comes from Sant'Ana, the mother of the Virgin Mary, and the estate that housed it. Inside, the poor altar keeps a venerated image of Senhora Sant'Ana, alongside images of São Benedito and Senhor dos Passos, plus bronze candlesticks. The sacristy holds niches and a window with a conversadeira seat.
The chapel stands in the Coutos district on the bank of the Santana River, with a small stone cross in front of it. It is a rural monument reached by road from Ilhéus, so plan transport in advance. The interior has no ceiling lining or decoration, and the sacristy holds a window with a built-in seat.
The sacristy holds a window with a built-in seat, a conversadeira, cut into the stone. The baptismal font, two holy water basins and the pulpit basin are also carved from stone, while the plain altar keeps an image of Senhora Sant'Ana, alongside images of São Benedito and Senhor dos Passos and some bronze candlesticks.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,814 contributors worldwide.