Catedral da Sé

Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora da Assunção, known as Catedral da Sé, stands on Praça da Sé, the historic center point from which distances in São Paulo are traditionally measured. Construction began in 1913 under German architect Maximilian Emil Hehl, replacing an earlier colonial-era cathedral on the same site, and the building was formally consecrated in 1954 to coincide with the city's fourth centennial, though finishing work continued afterward. The cathedral is built in neo-Gothic style with twin towers rising 92 meters, a large central dome influenced by Renaissance forms, and a facade of granite quarried in the state of São Paulo. The interior nave is lined with stained-glass windows depicting biblical and national historical scenes, and the crypt beneath the main altar contains the remains of the city's founding bishops and captains, as well as those of Tibiriçá, the indigenous chief who allied with the Jesuits and Portuguese settlers in the 16th century. The cathedral's scale and granite construction made it one of the largest neo-Gothic churches in Latin America at completion, and its plaza has served as a gathering point for major civic events and demonstrations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.