The Bay of
Guanabara was discovered by the Florentine Amerigo Vespucci on 1 January 1502. In 1555,
the French occupied the area around the Guanabara Bay and founded the France Antartique;
until 1565, there were skermishes between French and Portuguese; in 1565, the French were
expelled (click here for more
information on the France in Brazil), and Tomé de Souza founded the city of São
Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro.
In 1763, the city of Rio became the only administrative
capital of Brazil. In 1808, fleeding from the Napoleonic Wars, the King of Portugal moved
the entire court to Rio de Janeiro. In 1822, after Brazil became independent, the city of
Rio became capital of the Brazilian Empire. With
the inauguration of Brasilia in 1960, Rio de Janeiro ceased to be Brazil's capital.
BOOKS ABOUT RIO DE JANEIRO:
The Statue of
Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor), standing 30 metres tall and overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro, is
one of the tallest statues in the world. Developed by the engineer Heitor da Silva
Costa and originally conceived in 1921, cosntruction started in mid-1926 and was completed
in 1931. The statue sits on top of Corcovado Mountain. Visitors can access the base of the
statue, which, at 709 m. high, affords superb views of Sugar Loaf Mountain, downtown Rio
de Janeiro and Rio’s beaches. Visitors can take a train to the top of the mountain to
see the statue up-close and to make the most of the stunning views. Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
Estadio Mario Filho, the Maracana. The
stadium was projected by the architects Rafael Galvão, Pedro Paulo Bernardes Bastos,
Orlando Azevedo and Antônio Dias Carneiro. After it was constructed, the Maracanã
Stadium was the biggest stadium in the world, today no more.
Rio de Janeiro the modern cathedral of São
Sebastião. It's was projected by architect Edgar Fonseca and the engineer Newton Sotto
Maior. The church is 75 m. high and it has a diameter of 106 m. it can contain 20.000
persons.
Pão de Açúcar (396 m.): another postal
card on Rio de Janeiro is a hill in the entrance of Guanabara bay. You can get there by a
panoramic cable car that offers one of the most beautiful views on the city.
Copacabana beach from Sugar Loaf (Pão de
Açúcar).
The mountains landscape of Rio de Janeiro
from Sugar Loaf (Pão de Açúcar).
