Parish Church of Santo Antonio of Jacobina, 18th-century Catholic church in Jacobina, Brazil
The Parish Church of Saint Antony of Jacobina is a rectangular-plan church of 724 square metres built on high retaining walls at the base of the Serra da Conceição. Its austere frontispiece has a central body, a simple triangular pediment and three choir-level windows. Two towers flank the entrance: the left one is complete with a belfry and pyramid, the right one ends in a pyramid. Inside are a central nave, chancel, side choirs, sacristy and lateral altars with baroque woodcarving.
The parish of Jacobina Velha, created in 1683, was dissolved after rivalries between the Garcia d'Ávila and Guedes de Brito families; a new parish was set up in Casa da Ponte, today's Jacobina, in 1758, and the church was built that year on Guedes de Brito land. The left tower followed in 1895 under vicar Ágio Moreira Maia, using stones from the unfinished Church of the Remedies, and the Cistercians took over the parish in 1938.
The church displays Portuguese architectural elements and continues to serve as the main center for Catholic worship and community celebrations in Jacobina. People gather here for religious ceremonies and local events that shape the cultural life of the city.
The building is located at Praça Rui Barbosa in central Jacobina and remains open to visitors throughout the year. Since it is an active place of worship, visiting times may vary depending on services and religious events held here.
The 1922 renovation replaced the church's baroque pediment with a pyramidal one copied from the nearby Church of the Conception, and the old altars were moved into new naves. A 2001 survey found the retable damaged by termites and boards of the chancel ceiling needing replacement.
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