The real port of Rio de Janeiro, the oldest edge of town, went from the banks of Morro do Castelo, in Largo da Misericórdia, until shortly after Praça XV, in Valongo wharf and Prainha. In the first two centuries of occupation of the city, the river port was merely a spot sheltered for deep water surrounded by mountains of the Guanabara Bay: ships anchored and made the connection with land by boats. Colonial Rio was at the same time, a port, a fortress, the capital and the door to the countryside. An area for the arrival of passengers and goods, it would also seep the production of sugar mills, the gold mines, cattle ranches and coffee. It was in the vicinity of the port that the city began to grow.
In the second half of the 18th century, the port started to divide its functions: the arrival of noblemen and noble goods was at the wharves between the hills of Castelo and São Bento. The moorings of Valongo, Saúde and Gamboa received goods brought by larger ships and also enslaved Africans who left fundamental contributions to the Brazilian culture through religion, music, dance, garb and cuisine. With the advent of steamships and large scale ships, in the nineteenth century, the port was modernized and turned into a floating industry, at a time when the sea was a trashcan of society, where all kinds of manure was dropped. In the early twentieth century, the region was marked by the major reforms of Mayor Pereira Passos and the overthrow of Morro do Castelo.
When Rio was no longer the capital, the flow of goods fled the city, going to the nearby port Santos, closer to Brazil's financial center, Sao Paulo. Without the maritime activity, the commercial city center which was forbidden to be inhabited, turned its back to the port area. The region was also hidden due to the construction of a huge underpass that would help alleviate the traffic connecting the two airports to the port and Rio-Niteroi bridge. The revitalization works in the 21st century, the overthrow of the underpass called Perimetral and the recovery of the seafront once forgotten brought a breath of fresh air to the region. Rolé Carioca will go along the sea, through Orla Conde, a symbol of the major changes in the city.
The architectural ensemble accompanied the urban transformation of the city to become a museum of Brazilian history. It developed from the Fort of Santiago, built in 1603 in the former ponta do Calabouço, a strategic point of defense between the pristine beaches of Piçaba and Santa Luzia. Prisão do Calabouço (the dungeon’s prison), a Casa do Trem (the house of the train) and o Arsenal de Guerra (the War’s arsenal) were later incorporated to the initial fortification. The military facilities were maintained until 1908, when the arsenal was transferred to Caju. In the 1920s, the architectural body was refurbished to host the Major Industries Pavilion at the International Exhibition in 1922.
The institute is housed in the building that once held the Seaplane Passenger Station of Santos Dumont Airport, which opened in 1938 on the banks of Guanabara Bay. With the progress of aviation and the obsolescence of seaplanes which were replaced by more modern aircraft, the building was in disuse as of 1942. It was then assigned by the Aeronautics Ministry to be used by the Aeronautical Club, whose headquarters was adjacent to the premises of the building.
Espaço Cultural da Marinha
Housed in the old docks of Customs, built on an area grounded in the second half of the nineteenth century, the cultural center is part of the Marine Cultural Complex, formed by a circuit that aims to revisit the history of navigation in Brazil and which is part of the Naval Museum and Fiscal Island. The galliot D. João VI, built in 1808, the submarine Riachuelo and the ship Nau dos Descobrimentos are open to visitors, docked at the wharf. The Helicopter Museum can also be visited on the patio.
The building is the first record of the neoclassical style in Rio, an order of King D. João VI to Grandjean de Montigny, the French Artistic Mission Architect. Opened in 1820 as the first commerce square in the city, headquarters of what was then the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, it was shortly after transformed into Customs, functioning as so until 1944. It acquired different uses until it became a cultural center, an initiative of Darcy Ribeiro in the 1980s.
Candelaria can be considered the most imposing and grandiose church in Rio de Janeiro, not only because of its proportions, but also for its finishing and its great dome. The construction, which began in 1775 and was only completed in the last years of the 19th century, was erected facing the bay. It is said that it was funded by Spanish merchants. When they saw their boat was about to drawn, they called upon the saint, when they were safe, they built a church that marks the port.
The newly created sidewalk by the sea is a 3.5km long public walk that connects the National History Museum to the Warehouse 8 at the pier, on the grounds where the underpass Perimetral used to stand. The work recovered the seafront and uncovered old places that were built facing the sea, such as the old Customs of the city (currently Casa França Brasil) and the Candelaria church. For its creation, an agreement was made with the Navy to open up the military area around Morro de São Bento facing the Guanabara bay, which was formerly restricted to the population.
Opened in 2013, the Rio Art Museum is part of the revitalization project of the Port Zone and is housed in two buildings of different and interconnected profiles: the eclectic Palace Dom João VI and the neighboring building of modernist style - originally a bus station. The museum has a different proposal, to be both a space for cultural events and also a place intended for temporary art exhibitions, bringing life to Praça Mauá both during the day and at night.
Until the 1870s, the activities of the port happened in scattered facilities, including the wharfs of Central do Brasil Railroad, the Ilha dos Ferreiros, the Bay of São Cristóvão, Praça Mauá, and also the docs of Saúde, Moinho Inglês and Gamboa. Companies built berths and warehouses between Ilha das Cobras and the Navy Arsenal up to Ponta do Caju, with facilities that were officially opened in 1910. From the 1930s the administration was led by an independent federal agency and in the 1970s the Cia Docas do Rio was put together.
Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava under the guidelines of sustainability, the museum opened to the public in December 2015 and invites the participation of all, as citizens and members of the human species. It is an environment of ideas, explorations and questions about the time of great change in which we live in and the different paths to the future.
"A long time ago in the waters of Guanabara/ The sea dragon reappeared/ In the figure of a brave wizard/ Who history has not forgotten ..." Immortalized in the song composed by Aldir Blanc and João Bosco, the sailor João Cândido is a hero to the black cause in Brazil for leading the riot known as Revolta da Chibata in 1910. The sailors, almost all black and brown, protested against the conditions to which they were relegated and, above all, against the physical punishments inflicted by the officials - punishment that reminded the times of slavery and did not fit the Republican promises. Although arrested and excluded from the Navy, João Cândido’s name is engraved in history as a Black Admiral and his statue was placed at Praça XV.
On November 9, 1889, six days before the Republican forces established the new order in the country, the last ball of the Fiscal Island took place, settling the end of the Monarchy in Brazil. That night, the city went to the port to watch, flabbergasted, the fireworks which brought together all the elite of the Empire, including the military that would establish a coup a few days later. A samba by Silas de Oliveira called Five balls in the history of Rio portrays the ball: "Raising my glass / With euphoria / I made a toast to that beautiful waltz / In the dawn of the day / The lavishness waved to me / And smiled happily / something was going on / it was the end of the monarchy."
It is said that there was a treasure hidden in Morro do Castelo, buried by the Jesuits on the run after their expulsion ordered by the Marquis of Pombal. The priests buried their treasures on the hill, hoping to return one day and recover them. When the dismantling of Castelo began to be contemplated, Lima Barreto wrote essays on the hidden wealth which was being kept secret, which meant that many people were up the hill during the overthrow done with water, to see if the valuable belongings of the Jesuits were really there.
An icon of the grandeur of underpasses, Elevado da Perimetral meant the denial of the port, prioritizing the flux of cars. Built with beams made to last forever, the question that remains unanswered is... where are the beams? It is true that the tunnel made today was even mooted during the construction of the road, however, for alleged defense issues, it was not authorized by the Navy. For the same reason, driving along the edge was also not allowed. Two politicians who were against the construction of Perminetral and the closure of the port, Marcello Alencar and Luiz Paulo Conde are now honored in the region.
Best known as an entrepreneurial and industrial man, the 'richest man in the Empire', Irineu Evangelista de Sousa, the Baron of Mauá, maintained a love relationship in the family. He married his own niece, Maria Joaquina de Sousa Machado in 1841 - who would later be honored by the 1st steam locomotive to run in Brazil. Together they had 18 children. However, only five reached the age of majority - partly explained by inbreeding of the couple. First in wealth, then in poverty, they lived the last few years of their lives in a rented house in Petrópolis.
Until 1986, the well-known Angu do Gomes was offered in stalls scattered throughout the city. A synonym of the carioca tradition, the dish prepared with corn flour, receives various fillings such as meat, chicken and even vegetarian options. It is housed in two beautiful townhouses of the nineteenth century in Largo de São Francisco da Prainha.
Address: 75, Sacadura Cabral street.
Phone: (21) 2233-4561
Website: www.angudogomes.com.br
The architectural complex which houses the National History Museum was originally Fort Santiago, at Ponta do Calabouço, one of the strategic spots for the defense of the city. After the arsenal was transferred, it was refurbished to house the Pavilion of Great Industries of International Exhibition in 1922. At the same year, the museum was created and now it has in its archive the largest numismatic collection of Latin America.
Opening hours: from tue to fri, from 10 AM to 5:30 PM; sat and sun, from 2 PM to 6 PM
Address: Praça Marechal Âncora, s/n – next to Praça XV
Phone: (21) 3299-0324
Website: www.facebook.com/MuseuHistoricoNacional
Image Credits: www.guiadorio.net.br
Open to visitors, the island is now part of the Marine Cultural Complex and hosted the event that became known as "The Last Ball of the Empire". Access is usually done through the Schooner Nogueira da Gama, but whenever the vessel is not working, there is a minibus – a narrow bridge connects the island to the mainland. The entire visit along with the arrival at the island, lasts 2 hours.
Opening hours: from Thursday to Sunday, at 9:15, 12:30, 2pm and 3:30pm
Tickets are sold at the box office of Espaço Cultural da Marinha, R$ 25.
The circuit defines points of historical and cultural importance of the Port Region for the understanding of the process of the African Diaspora and the formation of Brazilian society. Each point refers to a dimension of the life of Africans and their descendants: the Wharfs of Valongo and Imperatriz represent the arrival in Brazil; the cemetery Cemitério dos Pretos Novos shows the undignified treatment of the remains of the people who came from the African continent; Largo do Depósito was where the slaves were sold; Valongo garden symbolizes the official story that sought to erase traces of the slave trade; Pedra do Sal was the point of resistance, celebration and meeting; and the cultural center José Bonifácio refers to education and culture.
Website: www.portomaravilha.com.br/circuito
