the igreja de nossa senora do monte do carmo (church of our lady of mount carmel), known as the old cathedral, was inaugurated in 1770. at the time it replaced the original chapel of the carmelites who came to rio de janeiro around 1590 - with the arrival of the portuguese court and the transfer of the portuguese capital to rio de janeiro in 1808, dom joão vi appointed the church as the new portuguese royal chapel, and as cathedral of rio de janeiro, which it remained until 1976.

as the portuguese royal chapel many important historical events happened here, such as the coronation of joão vi as king of portugal and the marriage of dom pedro, who would later become emperor of brazil. once brazil became a republic in 1822 the church became the imperial chapel and the coronation ceremonies of the emperors d. pedro i and d. pedro ii took place here.