On the slope rising from Lapa, the Santa Teresa Convent is the building that gave its name to the hill and to the neighborhood. Discreet and white-walled, it sits just above the Arches and close to the top of the Selarón Steps — a piece of 18th-century Rio amid the area’s most visited scenery.
The convent of the Discalced Carmelite nuns was completed in 1750. Its founding is linked to Jacinta de São José, born Jacinta Rodrigues Aires, a central figure in the effort to bring the Carmelite nuns to Rio, and it had the support of Governor Gomes Freire de Andrade.
The hill used to be called Morro do Desterro. With the convent dedicated to St Teresa of Ávila, the reformer of the Carmelite order, the name changed — first the hill’s, then that of the neighborhood that grew around it, now famous for its mansions, artists’ studios and tram.
The convent is still active: the nuns live there in cloister, devoted to prayer, so the interior is not open to visitors. The public may enter only the chapel, at mass times, and the experience is one of silence and contemplation.
The highlight is its place in the landscape: the colonial building at the top of the steps, with the Arches just below. The convent also inspired the Bloco das Carmelitas, one of Santa Teresa’s best-loved Carnival street parties, born from the legend of a nun who supposedly jumped the wall to join the fun — many revelers dress up as nuns.
Tips: respect the nuns’ silence and routine — this is a cloistered convent, not a tourist attraction. Check mass times before you go, visit during the day and combine it with the Selarón Steps and a walk around Santa Teresa. Use a ride-hailing app to come and go.