Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remedios

Northern Mozambique


This isolated church, tucked behind the mangroves close to the shore, retains a rare beauty enhanced by both its age and its setting. Built on the orders of Portuguese governor Pedro de Castro in 1579 for the Dominicans who maintained a convent on nearby Mozambique Island, it was later taken over by the Jesuits. Surviving details include the huge wooden doors, a gold-leaf altarpiece carved in India and an alfresco cistern once used by mariners.