Farol da Barra: Salvador , Bahia - Brazil

Built in a XVII century fortress, this is an emblematic light-house for the city of Salvador, the first capital of Brazil, still during the colonial times. There is an interesting naval museum in the fortress. 

Salvador

(lit. "Savior", historic name: São Salvador da Baía de Todos os Santos, in English: "Holy Savior of All Saints' Bay") is a city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first colonial capital of Brazil, the city is one of the oldest in the country and in the New World; for a long time, it was also known as Bahia, and appears under that name (or as Salvador da Bahia, Salvador of Bahia so as to differentiate it from other Brazilian cities of the same name) on many maps and books from before the mid-20th century. Salvador is the third most populous Brazilian city, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and it is the ninth most populous city in Latin America, after Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Lima.

Nicknamed Pelo by residents this area is in the older part of the upper city, or Cidade Alta, of Salvador. It ecompasses several blocks around the triangular Largo, and it is the location for music, dining and nightlife. Pelourinho means whipping post in Portuguese, and this was the old slave auction location in the days when slavery was common. Slavery was outlawed in 1835, and over time, this portion of the city, though home to artists and musicians, fell into disrepair. In the 1990's, a major restoration effort resulted in making the area a highly desirable tourist attraction. Pelourinho has a place on the national historic register and named a world cultural centery by UNESCO. 

Easily walkable, Pelo has something to see along every street, including churches, cafes, restaurants, shops and the pastel-hued buildings.

The Lacerda Elevator : One of the principal touristic points and postal cards of the city, it’s situated in the Cayru Plaza in the neighborhood of Comércio next to the Modelo Market, and connects the Cidade Baixa (Lower City) with the Cidade Alta (Upper City).The most famous elevator of Bahia transports some 900 thousand passengers per month or around 28 thousand passengers per day at the cost of five centavos per passenger and a duration of 30 seconds.

The Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (Portuguese: Igreja de Nosso Senhor do Bonfim) is the most famous of the Catholic churches of Salvador, in the State of Bahia, Brazil. It was built in the 18th century on a hill in the Itapagipe peninsula, in the lower town of Salvador. The church is the subject of intense religious devotion by the people of Salvador and is the site of a famous celebration held every year in January (Festa do Senhor do Bonfim).

The church s the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bonfim.

The veneration of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (Our Lord of the Good End, represented by the crucified Jesus in the moment of his death) is an old tradition in Portugal that was imported to Brazil during colonial times. In 1740, in order to fulfill a vow, Portuguese captain Teodósio Rodrigues de Faria brought a statue of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim from Setúbal (Portugal) to Salvador. Some years later a religious brotherhood (irmandade) dedicated to Our Lord of Bonfim was founded and a church to house the statue - the current Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim - began being built on top of Montserrat hill, in the Itapagipe peninsula, in the lower town of Salvador. The church was inaugurated in 1754, with the towers being finished around 1772.

The façade of the church is two-dimensional, with a central body flanked by two towers. The windows and specially the elaborate volutes of the gable on top of the façade follow a Rococo (late Baroque) design. The lower parts of the façade were covered by Portuguese white tiles (azulejos) in 1873.

Wooden ceiling of the church painted 1818-1820 by Franco Velasco.

The inner decoration of the church was only finished in the 19th century. The Neoclassical main altarpiece, which has the form of a baldachin with a cupola sustained by volutes, was carved and probably also designed by sculptor Antônio Joaquim dos Santos between 1813 and 1814. The lateral walls of the single-aisled nave are decorated with several altarpieces.

Another notable feature of the church is the painted wooden ceiling, executed by Bahia artist Franco Velasco between 1818 and 1820, which shows people thanking Our Lord of Bonfim for having survived a shipwreck. The sacristy, nave and other rooms of the church display paintings by another notable Bahia painter, José Teófilo de Jesus, executed in the 1830s.

In the 19th century, the Bonfim Brotherhood built houses in the square in front of the church to house the pilgrims (romeiros) that come to Salvador every year to honour Our Lord of Bonfim.