Church of Saint Anne (Belém)

Church of Saint Anne
Igreja de Sant'Ana
Front view of the church
01°27′05″S 48°29′29.55″W
Location	Belém, Pará Brazil
Architecture
Architect(s)	Giuseppe Landi
Architectural type	Baroque
Completed	1782 (1782)
Administration
Archdiocese	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belém do Pará

The Church of Saint Anne (Portuguese: Igreja de Sant'Ana), also known as Church of Our Lady of Saint Anne of Campina (Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Sant'Ana da Campina), is a Catholic temple built in 1782 by the architect Giuseppe Landi. It is located in the neighborhood of Campina, in the Brazilian city of Belém, in Pará. It was the second parish established in Belém during the colonial period.

History

The construction of the Church of Saint Anne began in 1760 to accommodate the parish of the Campina neighborhood. The temple was designed by the architect Giuseppe Landi, who was a devotee of Saint Anne and used his own resources for the construction. When Landi was appointed judge of the Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament, he offered the church a silver reliquary with a bone particle of Saint Anne that had belonged to one of his ancestors, Giacopo Landi. The work was completed in 1782 due to its complexity and the lack of resources.

Built in the late Italian Baroque style with neoclassical features, the temple has a Greek cross floor plan, a rectangular chancel and a central dome. The original project did not foresee any towers on the facade, which is now divided into three sections delimited by columns and pilasters; an entablature separates the two storey levels. A triangular pediment crowns the central portion of the facade. In the 19th century, two towers were added, hiding the columns and suppressing the fins. The urns, which used to be on the side of the pediment, are now on the entablature.

In 2004, the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional - IPHAN) began restoration work on the church. In 2005, the Brazilian Development Bank (Banco Nacional do Desenvolvimento - BNDES) complemented IPHAN's renovation by supporting the execution of architectural services and the artistic restoration of movable and integrated elements. The first phase of the renovation work began with the recovery of the facade cladding and the roof, which was stabilized and received ceiling protection. The chancel, nave, side rooms (chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, sacristy and consistory), baptistery, integrated artistic elements (main altarpiece and transept altarpieces), canvases, folding screen and images sculpted in wood and plaster were renovated.

In 2012, the work finished. The temple's rear and left side facades were also restored, with pilasters, architrave and openings rebuilt from the remains found in the walls. The intervention included new plumbing, electrical and lighting installations, including wiring for the security and sound systems and a lightning rod system.

Architectural features

The Church of Saint Anne was designed in the Baroque style with neoclassical features by the Italian architect Giuseppe Landi. It was inspired by the colonial and Italian styles and resembles Venetian churches. It features two 39-meter-high towers. Inside, the temple is 37 meters long and 19.5 meters wide. The side altars are made of marble. In the side chapels there are two canvases six meters long and three meters high made by Pedro Alexandrino dating from 1778.

The chancel is rectangular. Two annexes, one for the sacristy and the other for the brotherhood room, complete the interior of the temple. Doric pilasters that are placed throughout the nave and columns, also Doric, support the triumphal arch. An entablature with triglyphs crosses the entire nave. On January 23, 1962, the church and its collection were registered as a heritage site by IPHAN.

Gallery

• 
  Before the restoration in 2009
• 
  After restoration in 2012
• 
  Inside.
• 
  Panels.

See also

• Culture and tourism in Belém
• List of IPHAN heritage sites in the North of Brazil