During the first two centuries of Rio’s occupancy, the port was no more than a set of docks. Rio de Janeiro in Colonial times was a port, a fortress, and a capital and it was around the port that the city began to grow.
From 1769 on, the slaves began to arrive at Valongo's Wharf where shipowners, wholesale slave trade, mills and fishermen settled. These activities were the starting point for an urban characteristic of the occupation process, that was followed by the opening of streets and desiccation of Valongo’s moor terrain. These improvements were supported by the implementation of a sea transport system with other neighborhoods. When Rio was no longer the capital of the country, the flow of goods fled the city, going to Santos. The port lost its importance and its surroundings lived days of abandonment. Currently, the neighborhood is going through a revitalization process called Porto Maravilha.
Candelária Church is considered the most imposing and monumental church in Rio de Janeiro, not only for its proportions, but also for its finishing and its grand dome. Its construction began in 1775 and was finished just in the last years of the 19th century.
Address: s/n, Praça Pio X - Centro
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 4pm / Saturday from 8am to 12pm / Sunday from 9am to 1pm
Phone: (21) 2233-2324
Image Credits: Halley Pacheco de Oliveira
In 1590, Benedictine monks coming from Bahia founded the monastery. It is one of the main monuments of Colonial art in the city and in the country. At its side stands Colégio de São Bento, which was founded in 1858. A considerable amount of Brazilian personalities have graduated from this school. To name just a few: Pixinguinha, Benjamin Constant, Noel Rosa, Antonio Silva Jardim, Villa-Lobos and Cazuza, have studied there.
Address: 68, Dom Gerardo St. - Centro
Opening Hours: Everyday from 7am to 6pm
Website: www.osb.org.br
Image Credits: Halley Pacheco de Oliveira
The square was given its name was in honor of Barão de Mauá, or Irineu Evangelista de Souza, the greatest Brazilian entrepreneur in the Second Empire, the era of Pedro II. Among the main buildings of the square, highlights are for Palacete Dom João VI, which now houses the Rio Art Museum, and the building “A Noite”, hallmark of the vertical development of city center in the 30s.
Image Credits: Paulo Engelbrecht
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Built between 1904 and 1910, it has long been the main port in Brazil, surpassed later by Santos. It fell into decay up to the point of being deactivated, the container port being the only remaining facility in its premises. Because of the major events in the city and real estate speculation, the region is going through a redevelopment project, called Porto Maravilha.
Image Credits: Bruno Bartholini
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Responsible for the administration of Rio’s port, the Superintendence of the Port’s Guard manages the organized ports of the State of Rio de Janeiro, leasing its terminals to private enterprise through a Federal Government grant.
Image Credits: O Dia Online
Created 10 years after the discovery of the Cemetery of New Blacks, it is in the archeological site that the remains of anonymous Africans brought as slaves from their homelands to Brazil are deposited. Most of the newcomers to the port passed away during quarantine.
Address: 32, Pedro Ernesto St. - Gamboa
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Friday from 1pm to 7pm
Website: www.pretosnovos.com.br
Image Credits: www.museusdorio.com.br
The wharf built in 1843 to be the point of arrival and trade of the African slaves was adapted to become the Empress Pier, in order to welcome Teresa Cristina, who would marry Dom Pedro II. In 1911, it was landfilled and gave way to Praça do Comércio. A century later, its history would resurface with the works of Porto Maravilha.
Image Credits: www.viajenaviagem.com
Considered the birthplace of samba, the ‘salt rock’ is still a meeting place for samba artists. It is so called because salt was unloaded at the rock. It went from a region of slave trade to a shelter for the black population, after the law of the liberation of slaves, which did not foresee the inclusion of slaves’ descendants in society. The first Carnival ranches, afoxés and samba circles were held there.
Image Credits: Rolé Carioca
In 1996, residents decided to carry out renovations in their homes, built in the early 18th century on 36, Pedro Ernesto St. Gamboa. They ended up finding, under the structure of the building, a secular cemetery for black Africans who could not resist the trip and died even before they were marketed. The place became known as Cemetery of New Blacks. It became an archaeological site and later a Cultural Center.
Whenever there was a party at the port area, the entertainment was geographically stratified: Choro was played in the living room, a musical group composed mainly of flute, “cavaquinho” and the guitar; rural samba took place at the yard, with its rhythm set by clapping, the tambourine, the plate-and-knife and danced with a creative choreography involving tap dancing, sieves and belly dancing. It was there that the rural samba from Bahia and other musical expressions merged, giving rise to the urban samba carioca.
The Church owes its existence to a storm. In the 17th century, on the imminent danger of having their boat s sunk in the Atlantic, a Spanish couple, António Martins de Palma and his wife Leonor de Palma, made a vow to build a chapel on the site where they had arrived safely. When they got to Rio, they kept their vow. The couple, who was devoted to the Saint of Spanish origins, built a small chapel to Our Lady of Candelária with their own money.
Not many songs that refer to the port were recorded. One of them, composed by Geraldo Pereira, deals with police activity in the region. “Policia no Morro – Cabritada Mal Sucedida” goes like this: “It was Bento’s birthday, and he invited me to have lunch, he said he'd kill a goat. Wherever there is goatmeat, I’ll be, and when the “food & drink” began, at the best of the goat, the police and the owner of the animal arrived. They took us blamelessly in the patrol car and they also took the goat, and all the drinks were broken, Mr. Commissioner, angry, did not want to let anyone go. Sebastiana’s boss had to go to the police station to let me go. They dumped the poor wretches, blamelessly, in the patrol car and they also took the goat…”
Opened in March 2013, Rio Art Museum is part of the revitalization project of the port zone. It is installed in two interconnected buildings of heterogeneous appearances: the Palace Dom João VI, eclectic, and the neighboring building of modernist style – originally a bus station. The shows and events it hosts encourage self-esteem and also strengthen self-criticism and a sense of responsibility concerning the city.
Address: 5, Praça Mauá - Centro/Gamboa
Phone: (21) 3031-2741
Website: www.museudeartedorio.org.br
Image Credits: www.turistaslocais.com
Built in 1871 by the first African descent engineer in Brazilian history, André Rebouças, the shed has been adapted and became one of the nicest multifunctional spaces in Rio and hosts free theater workshops circus and folk dances, besides fairs and festivals.
Address: 75, Barão de Tefé Ave. - Gamboa
Phone: (21) 2233-7460 / 2253-8177
Website: www.acaodacidadania.com.br
Image Credits: Marcos AC / Imagem Carioca
This themed bar, displays classic movies, which also lend their names to drinks and appetizers. It offers an opportunity for filmmakers and film students to expose their short or long feature films.
Address: 39, Conselheiro Saraiva St. - Centro
Phone: (021) 2253-1414
Website: www.cinebotequim.com.br
Image Credits: www.cinebotequim.com.br
Having one hundred years of history, it used to be called “Gaiato da Veiga” until the 60s. The bar, that has been through a fire and reopened in 2013, offers traditional pub appetizers and daily meals, besides samba on Thursdays.
Address: Rua Sacadura Cabral, 97 - Gamboa
Phone: (021) 2263-5028
Website: www.facebook.com/restaurantegracioso
Image Credits: www.turistaaprendiz.org.br
Opened as the headquarters of the Commercial Association of Rio de Janeiro, in 1906, its rotunda housed the trading floor of the Public Funds Exchange. In the 20s, the building became part of Banco do Brasil, that had it reformed for the opening of its headquarters. At that time it became the beautiful building in neoclassical style, emblematic of the national financial world until 1960. Today, it houses several exhibitions and has an extensive and varied programming in its cinemas, galleries and theaters.
Address: 66, Primeiro de Março Ave. - Centro
Phone: (021) 3808-2020
Website: www.culturabancodobrasil.com.br/portal/rio-de-janeiro
Image Credits: extra.globo.com
This tour sets landmarks of the historical and cultural importance of the port region for the understanding of the process of the African Diaspora and the making of Brazilian society. The circuit consists of: Valongo's wharf, the Cemetery of New Blacks, Largo do Depósito, Valongo’s garden, Pedra do Sal and the Cultural Center José Bonifácio.
Site: www.portomaravilha.com.br/circuito
Image Credits: blackwomenofbrazil.co
