The São Pedro Clock is an open-air

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

located in

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

, the capital of the Brazilian state of

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

. It is located in Largo de São Pedro, next to the monument to the

Baron of Rio Branco Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

, and where the São Pedro Church was previously located, demolished in 1913 for the construction of Avenida Sete de Setembro promoted by the then governor of Bahia J. J. Seabra. The result of an initiative by the Association of Employees in the Commerce of Bahia, it was inaugurated on November 15, 1916 (the day of the Proclamation of the Republic), already under the state government of Antonio Muniz de Aragão.

Details

It consists of a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

sculpture by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

artist based in Brazil Pasquale de Chirico, completed in Paris in 1914, and four Henri-Le Pante clocks made in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Made with the techniques of casting and hewn stone, the material of the sculptural base of the clock is

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

and

pink granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. The monument is shaped like a lamppost with a lantern adorned above the clocks, and four figures of

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

supporting them, and in all, it is 6.50 meters high. Located in a commercial area of

, in addition to showing the time, the monument is a

historic landmark A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

. The former São Pedro Church located there was the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of São Pedro Velho Extramuros, an extinct subdivision of Salvador named after the outside of the wall that surrounded the fortress city. Although extinct, São Pedro is an area of Salvador's Historic Center popularly treated as a small neighborhood. In 1999, a vehicle collided with the monument and motivated major maintenance. Since then the maintenance of the clock is in charge of the clockmaker Wilson Ribeiro. In the context of the renovation of Avenida Sete by Salvador's City Hall, the São Pedro Clock had its rust spots removed, its mechanics repaired, its paint renewed, and its glasses replaced. The Gregório de Mattos Foundation (FGM), a municipal public foundation, was responsible for this restoration, which was completed on September 3, 2015.

References

Individual clocks Buildings and structures in Salvador, Bahia {{Brazil-struct-stub

Details

See also

References