Why it looks like this

The Portuguese founded Salvador in 1549 as the capital of colonial Brazil, and split it by height: government, cathedral and the Pelourinho's colourful streets on the escarpment top — the Cidade Alta — with the port, markets and warehouses on the narrow shelf below. A cliff of about seventy metres separates the two halves.

Connecting them created a civic icon: the Elevador Lacerda, opened in 1873 as one of the world's first urban public elevators, still carries thousands daily between the two street networks. The city curves around the Bay of All Saints, its modern districts stretching along the Atlantic beaches.