Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Museu da
República
e
Rua do Catete 153, Catete.
Tel
(021)
3235 2650.
Museu Carmen
Miranda
r
Av Rui Barbosa, Flamengo.
Tel
(021)
2334 4293.
noon-
5pm Tue, Thu & Fri; 2-5pm Wed;
2-6pm Sat, Sun & public hols.
q
Catete.
#
11am-5pm Tue-Fri; 2-5pm Sat, Sun
& public hols.
q
Flamengo
.
#
&
8
7
www
.museudarepublica.org.br
Fans of Carmen Miranda
will not want to miss this
small museum tucked away
in Flamengo Park. One of
the most famous Brazilians
of all time, Maria do Carmo
Miranda da Cunha was born
in Portugal in 1909, but
moved to Rio with
her family when she
was a baby. Carmen
cut her first record in
1929. However, it
was the big screen
that would make her
a global star. Her first
film in 1932 shot her
to international star-
dom, and in 1941,
she became the
first South American
to be honored with a
star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame. After her death on
August 5, 1955, her body was
returned to Rio where a
crowd of almost 500,000
watched her burial.
The museum exhibits
iconographic costumes,
including her tall fruit hats
and platform-heeled shoes,
and artifacts belonging to
Carmen, as well as many
of her records and films.
The story of Brazil's history,
as told by the Museum of the
Republic, picks up where the
Museu Histórico Nacional left
off. It begins with the
Proclamation of the Republic
in 1889, and covers events
until 1960, when the
capital and the then
President Kubitschek
moved from Rio de
Janeiro to Brasília.
What makes the
museum particularly
special is that its
building, constructed
between 1858 and
1866, was the presi-
dential residence
from 1897 until 1954.
In that year, President
Getúlio Vargas
(see pp56-7),
Brazil's most influential states-
man who was president for
24 years, committed suicide
in his bedroom. The third
floor is dedicated to an exhi-
bition about the life and
work of Vargas. His bedroom
has been preserved exactly
as it used to be when he
lived here. In total, the palace
was home to 18 Brazilian
presidents, all of whom
feature in the museum's
various exhibits.
Apart from the historical
museum and palace, there
is also an attractive garden
on the grounds.
Igreja Nossa Senhora da Glória do
Outeiro rising above tree tops
Igreja Nossa
Senhora da Glória
do Outeiro
w
Praça Nossa Senhora da Glória 135,
Glória.
Tel
(021) 2557 4600.
q
Glória.
#
8am-5pm Tue-Fri,
8am-noon Sat & Sun.
5
8:30am
Sat, 9-11am Sun.
www
.outeirodagloria.org.br
A portrait of
Carmen Miranda
Most visitors to downtown
Rio cannot help but notice
the beautiful octagonal church
of Our Lady of Gloria, as it
sits majestically on top of a
hill beside the freeways cut-
ting through Flamengo Park.
The spot where the church
was built, in 1714, was first
used as a place of worship
in 1608, when the image
of Our Lady of Gloria was
placed in a grotto. The land
was donated to the church
in 1699 by the nobleman
Cláudio Gurgel do Amaral.
The church, which was
completed in 1739, came to
national attention when it
became the favorite place of
worship for Dom Pedro VI
and his family after their
arrival from Portugal in 1808.
Known for its hand-painted
tiles dating from the 1730s,
it was declared a national
monument by President
Vargas in 1937.
The church can be reached
either by car, or by foot up
the steps known as Ladeira de
Nossa Senhora. It is also poss-
ible to take a small cable car
that starts from Rua do Russel
312. There are views across
the bay and there is also a
small sacred art museum.
Museu do Rio
t
Av João Luiz Alves 13, Urca.
#
due
to open in 2010.
7
The Museum of Rio is a
new undertaking that aims
at giving the city its very own
museum. Located on Urca
beach in the looming shadow
of the spectacular Sugar Loaf
mountain, the museum is
housed in the historic Cassino
da Urca - the city's main
showhouse between 1933
and 1946.
Between 1950 and 1980,
the Cassino served as a tele-
vision studio. Work began in
2005 to restore and adapt it
into a museum covering the
history of Rio and the advent
of television in the city.
Attractive garden outside the
Museu da República
