Baroque, is a decorative style of French origin that spread throughout Europe from the first half of the 18th century. It is characterized by the use of specific decorative motifs, often asymmetrical, among which the rocalhas, abstract shell-shaped motifs, stand out. In gilded carving, rococo shows more elegance and lightness than the heavy baroque carvings: while in baroque there was a tendency to horror vacui, in rococo the decorative motifs are dispersed over the surfaces. In colonial Brazilian architecture, Rococo influences the art of the last half of the 18th century and the beginning of the next. In some churches of Rococo influence in Brazil, particularly in Minas Gerais, the facades have three-dimensional effects created by the receding and rotating position of the towers and the undulations of the surfaces. In most cases, however, rococo was restricted to the decorative motifs of the facades, particularly in the design of the pediments, cornices, and bulbous domes of towers. In Recife there is an important set of facades of Rococo influence, such as the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Basilica and Convent, begun in 1767, the Santo Antônio Mother Church and others, all with curved cornices and exuberant pediments. In Bahia there are also several facades with Rococo details, such as the pediment of the Nosso Senhor do Bonfim Church, also dating from the last quarter of the 18th century. In Rio de Janeiro, on the other hand, the Rococo style was restricted to the decoration of the interiors, as in the Santa Rita Church and the Old Cathedral. Rococo in Minas Gerais In Minas Gerais, religious architecture followed different paths during the Baroque-Rococo period. Unlike the other regions of Brazil, the facades of some churches incorporated three-dimensional variations, creating a new expressiveness. In addition, the availability of soapstone (steatite), an easy material to carve, allowed the development of beautiful and original portals by the greatest colonial sculptor, Antônio Francisco Lisboa, Aleijadinho. In the Santa Efigênia Church in Ouro Preto, begun in 1733 and possibly designed by Manuel Francisco Lisboa, one observes the slightly recessed positioning of the towers in relation to the façade, in addition to a slight rounding of the towers, which can be seen as a precursor of future facades in Minas Gerais. The facade of the Congonhas Sanctuary (begun in 1757) incorporates a beautiful carved portal in soapstone dated between 1765 and 1769 and probably by Jerônimo Félix Teixeira.