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Olinda is a historic hill town on the Atlantic coast of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil, 6 km north of Recife, famous for its colonial center of Baroque churches and convents, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for its free street carnival with giant puppets.
Founded in 1535 by Duarte Coelho, Olinda was the capital of the Captaincy of Pernambuco and among the richest towns of colonial Brazil, once called a little Lisbon. Dutch invaders burned it in 1631, and most of its churches were rebuilt in the following decades. In 1982 its old upper town became the second Brazilian historic center, after Ouro Preto, to be listed by UNESCO.
Climb the steep streets to the Alto da Sé for the cathedral and the views toward Recife, then visit the São Bento Monastery, the São Francisco Convent and the Carmo church. Leave time for the puppet and art museums, and come in carnival season to see the giant puppets parade through the streets.
Historic Center of Olinda, also called the Cidade Alta, is the colonial upper town of Olinda, laid out on hills above the sea from 1535. Declared a national monument in 1980 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, it keeps its colonial street plan, with dozens of Baroque churches and convents.
Olinda Cathedral, the Sé de São Salvador do Mundo on the Alto da Sé, is the oldest church in Olinda, founded in 1540 as a mud chapel and rebuilt in stone from 1584. It is Brazil's largest 16th-century church and the seat of the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife. Duarte Coelho's castle stood close by.
Museum of Sacred Art of Pernambuco stands on the Alto da Sé in Olinda in a 17th-century building that was first the town's council house and later the bishop's palace. It keeps two original towers and twelve windows with wooden balconies, and the museum has filled it with religious art since 1974.
Alto da Sé Observatory is a neoclassical observatory built in 1890 on the hilltop of Olinda. Nearby, on 26 February 1860, the French astronomer Emmanuel Liais observed the comet named after Olinda, the first comet discovered in South America. Astronomers also watched the 1882 transit of Venus here.
São Bento Monastery of Olinda stands on the site of the first Benedictine monastery in Brazil, built between 1597 and 1599. Monks came to Pernambuco in 1586 at the invitation of the captaincy's ruler, Jorge de Albuquerque Coelho. Today the basilica and monastery form an important Baroque complex.
São Francisco Convent of Olinda, also called the Convent of Our Lady of the Snows, is the oldest Franciscan convent in Brazil, begun in 1585. Damaged by the Dutch in 1631, it was rebuilt in the 17th century. Its cloister and sacristy are famous for Portuguese tile panels and painted ceilings.
Igreja do Carmo de Olinda is the oldest church of the Carmelite order in the Americas, begun around 1580 when the friars settled in Olinda. The church and convent were badly damaged when the Dutch burned the town in 1631, and rebuilding began after 1654. Its south tower was completed in 1726.
Misericórdia Church of Olinda was founded by the Brotherhood of the Santa Casa de Misericórdia, created in 1539 as Brazil's first confraternity. Its adjoining hospital is considered the first in the country. Burned in the great fire of 1631, it was rebuilt on the same site, smaller, in 1655.
Olinda Carnival fills the steep streets of historic Olinda with more than a million revelers and about 500 carnival groups. It is famous for the giant puppets of Olinda, figures over two meters tall, led by the Homem da Meia-Noite, created in 1931, who comes out at midnight on Carnival Saturday.
Museu do Mamulengo, also called Espaço Tiridá, is a museum in Olinda devoted to mamulengo, the hand puppet theater of northeastern Brazil, recognized by IPHAN as part of Brazil's cultural heritage in 2015. Its collection holds about 1,500 pieces, and it also stages puppet performances.
Museum of Contemporary Art of Pernambuco is a state museum in Olinda housed in the Aljube, an 18th-century church jail built to hold people accused of witchcraft and crimes against religion. Opened on 23 December 1966, it holds about 4,000 works and is a leading art museum of the Northeast.
Olinda Lighthouse stands on the Morro do Serapião in Olinda, a 42 m reinforced concrete tower braced by four buttresses and painted in black and white bands. It opened on 7 September 1941, replacing the town's first lighthouse of 1872, and was the first lighthouse in Brazil fitted with a lift.
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