São Paulo – Ah, Rio de Janeiro! Lots of sun, wonderful beaches, Carnival, Christ the Redeemer, Pão de Açúcar. Does anyone set out to visit the Marvellous City and does not enjoy these beauties and delights that make it so… marvellous? It’s hard to go to Rio once, twice, three or four times and not visit its beautiful postcards, but there are many other addresses in the capital of Rio that often don’t get included in the tourist routes and deserve a visit.
Because it was the capital of colonial and post-colonial Brazil, from 1763 to 1960, Rio is the site of several monuments, buildings and treasures that still bear relation with the former Brazilian Empire or which served the heads of government who worked from there. This is the case, for instance, with Paço Imperial, which was the Portuguese Royal family headquarters starting in 1808, when John 6th fled to Brazil with his family to escape Napoleon Bonaparte. Now, the place is a cultural and historical centre that hosts exhibitions and even theatre plays.
This is not the only heritage from the empire period. The Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) is another. The owner of the largest collection in Brazil and regarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) as one of the ten largest national libraries in the world, it started being created as the Royal Family arrived in Brazil and brought along 60,000 items in its fleet, including books, maps, coins, medals, manuscripts and prints.
The items belonged in the Royal Library and were shipped to Brazil when Portugal was invaded by France and Spain. The most prized items in the Royal Library along with the Court of Lisbon and kicked off the Brazilian National Library. Two years later, John 6th ruled that the Royal Library was to be established in the catacombs of the Hospital of the Third Order of Carmo. Now, 202 years after its inception, the National Library harbours collections of books, maps, coins and works of art.
In addition to being the colony’s capital, Rio was capital of the Republic up until the inauguration of Brasília. From 1889 to 1950, 18 heads of state worked from what is now the Museum of the Republic. Out of this eclectic-style building built in 1867 there came Brazilian declarations of war against Germany, in 1917, and to the Axis of Evil countries, in 1942, as well as the announcement of implementation of the Cruzeiro as the national currency in 1942. Its rooms staged the suicide of president Getúlio Vargas, in 1954, and the wake of president Afonso Pena, in 1909.
Now, the Museum of the Republic hosts temporary exhibitions of pictures, documents, furniture and works of art from the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum also keeps an archive of Republican-era documents and a library of historical books from that same period.
With or without plays being staged, Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro is spectacular. It was inaugurated in 1909, and in 2011 it underwent restoration work that re-established its original features. The building’s design was inspired in the Paris Opera. A tour of the theatre reveals surprises in the details: impressive items include the concert hall chandelier, made of golden bronze with crystal trinkets, sided with a fresco by Eliseu Visconti. In the façade, the walls are made from Italian and Belgian marble. The 14 main columns are made from Carrara marble. Some of the stained glass windows in the foyer have come from Stuttgart, Germany. The spectacle is open to the public in guided visits.
Monitored tours are also offered at Chácara (Farm) Roberto Burle Marx. In Guaratiba, more than 30 kilometres away from the centre of Rio, visitors will find one of the world’s largest plant collections. There are 3,500 species distributed throughout 365,000 square metres of green area. On getting to know the landscapist Burle Marx’s studies and favourite species, one can understand why his drawings of gardens were always so successful in Brazil. One example of his talent is located nearer the centre, in the gardens of the leisure complex Aterro do Flamengo, which he designed.
Just like Burle Marx’s gardens, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, built in 1976, is another modern icon. It does not resemble a “traditional” church. However, to the followers of Christian faith, it is filled with symbolisms that narrate biblical excerpts or suggest the constant presence of God to visitors.
It is cone-shaped, with a near-round-shaped bottom and top. And this is so for a reason. The challenge for architect Edgar Fonceca on designing the building was to have a cross on the ceiling of the church. Why? To imply the constant presence of Jesus Christ. The cross is complemented by windows that start next to its extremities and only end on the floor, 75 metres below. The natural light that seeps in through the windows represents the constant presence of God, and each symbolizes the four marks of the church: one, holy, catholic and apostolic.
Among the “least obvious” tours of Rio de Janeiro, Confeitaria Colombo is perhaps the “most obvious.” Inaugurated in 1894, it attracts many tourists. At the time of inauguration, the owners made it clear that they wanted to establish, in Rio de Janeiro, a pastry shop in the style of those in London or Paris, as good as those.
Thus, halls decorated with Belgian mirrors, Italian marble and jacaranda furniture welcome the customers, who delight themselves with sponge cake stuffed with milk candy, petit fours and casadinho cookies. But don’t be fooled. Among imported recipes in this icon of the Belle Époque there are small meat pastels (fried envelope stuffed with different fillings), very popular throughout Brazil, the flagship of sales over the Colombo counters. After going to such different places, there is nothing like returning to the good old bohemia of Rio with such as popular delicacy. After all, this is Rio de Janeiro!
Service
Museu da República – Rua do Catete, 153, Catete. Tel.: (+55 21) 3235-3693
Confeitaria Colombo – Rua Gonçalves Dias, 32, Centro. Tel.: (+55 21) 2505-1500
Catedral Metropolitana – Avenida Chile, 245, Centro. Tel.: (+55 21) 2240-2669
Theatro Municipal – Praça Marechal Floriano, s/nº, Centro. Tel: (+55 21) 2332-9191
Sítio Burle Marx – Estrada Burle Marx. Tel.: (+55 21) 2410-1412
Biblioteca Nacional – Avenida Rio Branco, 219, Centro. Tel.: (+55 21) 3095-3879
Paço Imperial – Praça 15 de Novembro, 48. Tel.: (+55 21) 2215-2622
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
