São Paulo Cathedral
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The São Paulo Cathedral (Portuguese: Catedral da Sé de São Paulo) is the cathedral of the city of São Paulo, in Brazil. Its construction, in Neo-Gothic style, began in 1913 and did not end until four decades later.
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[edit] History
The history of the Cathedral of São Paulo goes back in time to 1589, when it was decided that a main church (the Matriz) would be built in the small village of São Paulo. This church, located on the site of the present cathedral, was only finished around 1616. São Paulo became seat of a diocesis in 1745, and the old church was demolished and substituted by a new one, built in Baroque style, which was finished around 1764. This modest church would be the Cathedral of São Paulo until 1911, when it was demolished.
The present cathedral was built under Duarte Leopoldo e Silva, the first archbishop of São Paulo. The works began in 1913 on the site of the demolished colonial cathedral following the project of German architect Maximiliano Hehl, who designed a Neo-Gothic structure. Works proceeded slowly and the inauguration of the new Cathedral happened only in 1954, with the towers still unfinished, but in time for the celebration of São Paulo's Fourth Centenary. The towers would only be completed in 1967.
After a long period of decay, the Cathedral underwent a complete renovation between 2000 and 2002. Apart from repairing the building, many pinnacles over the nave and towers were completed. The original 1912 construction plans were found inside the building, allowing for a faithfull restoration.
[edit] The building
The Cathedral is the largest church in São Paulo: 111 metres long, 46 metres wide, with the two flanking towers reaching a height of 92 metres. The Cathedral is a Latin cross church with a five-aisled nave and a dome that reaches 30 metres over the crossing. Although the building in general is Neo-Gothic, the dome is inspired by the Renaissance dome of the Cathedral of Florence.
The Cathedral has an total capacity for 8,000 people. More than 800 tons of rare marble were used in its completion. The inner capitals are decorated with sculpted Brazilian elements like coffee branches, pineapples, armadillos, etc.
[edit] Crypt
The crypt, located below the main altar, is very large and can be considered a subterranean church in its own right. It is decorated with marble sculptures by Francisco Leopoldo e Silva depicting the history of Job and St Jerome.
The crypt has the tombs of all bishops and archbishops of São Paulo. Of special note are the bronze tombs of two important historical figures: father Diogo Feijó and the cacique Tibiriçá. Feijó was regent of Brazil during the minority of Emperor Pedro II. Tibiriçá was the cacique (chieftain) of the Guaianaz tribe who, in the 16th century, welcomed the first Jesuits to the Piratininga Plateau and whose aid made the foundation of São Paulo possible.
[edit] Organ
The cathedral's organ, built in 1954 by the Italian firm Balbiani & Rossi, is one of the largest in Latin America. It has five keyboards, 329 stops, 120 registers, and 12,000 pipes, the mouths of which display hand-engraved reliefs in Gothic style.
