Convento da Penha: Brazil's Oldest Pilgrimage Site
The Convento da Penha — perched on a dramatic rocky hill in Vila Velha since 1558 — is one of Brazil's oldest and most revered pilgrimage sites; the views from the hill over Vitória bay are extraordinary
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Convento da Penha Architecture
The Franciscan monastery built in 1558 — by order of the lay brother Pedro Palácios — is the oldest active religious community in Espírito Santo; the monastery and the church on the steep rocky hill are reached by 365 steps
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Pilgrim tradition
Convento da Penha receives hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annually - especially at the Penha festival in April; ex-votos, prayer tablets and wax body parts fill the pilgrimage chapel in a popular religious tradition
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Hill view of the bay
The view from the Convento da Penha hill over Vitória Bay, the Third Bridge and the mountains of Espírito Santo is one of the finest urban panoramas in southeastern Brazil
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Ex-Voto Room
The Sala de ex-votos at Convento da Penha – filled with thousands of offerings from miracles attributed to Nossa Senhora da Penha – is one of Brazil's most extraordinary collections of popular religious art
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Vila Velha Historic Center
The town of Vila Velha below the monastery – the first Portuguese settlement in Espírito Santo – has colonial-era streets and churches; the historic center is restored as the urban contrast to Vitória's modernity
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Lagoa de Jabaete
The coastal lagoon below Convento da Penha is a bird sanctuary — the pink spoonbills, herons and cormorants that use the sheltered lagoon are visible from the monastery hill above