Although even the residents of the Northern Capital of Portugal, the beautiful city of Porto, call the religious building on Carmo Street "the Carmo and Carmelitas Church", these are two completely different Catholic churches. They are even separated by a house. By the way, this house itself can also be called a unique tourist attraction as it is only one and a half meters wide. What prompted the builders to erect such a strange building, which is hardly habitable even for the most humble people? There is a very simple explanation, hidden in the old law prohibiting two churches from having common walls.

The medieval Carmelitas Church was built first, from 1616 to 1650. It belonged to a former monastery of the Barefoot Carmelites. Its facade is made of granite and has three arched entrances. All the entrances are crowned with high niches with statues of St. Joseph, the Spanish Carmelite nun St. Teresa of Avila, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the patroness of the Carmelite Order. The sculptural facade is completed by a triangular pediment with amazing stone balusters. Another important attraction is the bell tower with a dome, added to the church on the left and lined with traditional Portuguese azulejo tiles. And if the exterior of the Catholic shrine is light and elegant, the interior of the temple is a real triumph of the Portuguese Baroque, a kingdom of luxury and wealth. It is softened by only a few elements of French Rococo, that suppress the glaring splendor of precious metals.

The Church of Carmo was built about 150 years later, in the mid-18th century, together with one of the narrowest houses in Portugal. Made in the popular Baroque style with Rococo elements, the facade of the second church also includes niches with statues of the saints: the prophet and wonderworker Elijah and his disciple Elisha. Besides, it is crowned by four figures of the Evangelists, created by the Italian master Nicolau Nasoni.