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According to historians, the original Chapel of São José was built sometime between 1608 and 1640. The records were lost when French corsair Duguay-Trouin ransacked the city in 1711. In the end of the XVIII century the chapel was in a terrible state of disrepair. The Brotherhood of São José, one of the oldest in Rio, decided to raise a new church. They commissioned the project to Felix José de Souza and Portuguese architect João da Silva Muniz. The two front towers are home to Rio de Janeiro's most cherished carillon, of 1883. The church is a mix of several styles. The colonial contrast of stone and whitewashed walls outside alternates to heavy engraving in late Rococo style inside. The latter is a work by Master Simeão de Nazaré, a disciple of Mestre Valentim. The sacristy is carved in dark jacaranda wood.