Paço de São Cristóvão (; en, Palace of Saint Christopher; also known as Palácio Imperial or Palácio Imperial de São Cristóvão) was an imperial palace located in the

Quinta da Boa Vista The Quinta da Boa Vista ( en, "Estate of the Good View") is a public park of great historical importance located in the São Cristóvão (Rio de Janeiro), São Cristóvão neighbourhood, in the North zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. T ...

park in the Imperial Neighbourhood of São Cristóvão,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It served as residence to the

Portuguese Royal Family The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in ...

and later to the Brazilian Imperial Family until 1889, when the country became a republic through a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

deposing Emperor Pedro II. The palace briefly served as a public building by the

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

for the constituent assembly of the first republican constitution. It housed the major part (92.5%) of the collections of the

National Museum of Brazil The National Museum of Brazil ( pt, Museu Nacional) is the oldest scientific institution of Brazil. It is located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where it is installed in the Paço de São Cristóvão (Saint Christopher's Palace), which is i ...

, which, together with the building, were largely destroyed by a fire on 2 September 2018.

History

Background

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the area where the Palace is currently located, was part of a Jesuit farm in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. With the expulsion of the Order in 1759, the property was dismembered and passed into private ownership. In the early 19th century, the area known as ''Quinta da Boa Vista'' (Good View Estate), because could be seen from there the Tijuca Forest, the Corcovado Hill and the Cajú Beach, belonged to the Portuguese-Lebanese slave merchant, ''Elie Antun Lubbus'', (''Elias Antônio Lopes'' in

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...

), who had erected, around 1803, a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

on top of a hill, from which one had a good view of the

Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay ( pt, Baía de Guanabara, ) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói a ...

– which gave rise to the current name of region. When the Portuguese court was transferred to Brazil, in 1808, Elias António Lopes donated his farm to the

prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

John VI. John VI appreciated the gift and stayed for long periods in the manor house. Before belonging to the monarchy, the residence had nothing special. It was just one of many colonial-style mansions scattered throughout the country. With the arrival of John VI to Brazil, who had left Lisbon fleeing Napoleon in 1808, countless houses in Rio were expropriated to house the Portuguese of the royal entourage. Before his Quinta da Boa Vista was confiscated, the merchant Elias Antônio Lopes hastened to donate it to the king. In thanks for his mime, João VI granted Lopes titles of nobility and a fat indemnity. The mansion underwent countless renovations over the decades. An imposing masonry and cast iron gate was set there. It was built a side tower in Moorish style. There was a semicircular staircase to enter the residence on the second floor. Later, another tower rose, at the opposite end, in neoclassical style. The ladder was destroyed, and the entrance turned to the first floor. The third floor was built. The Moorish tower was rebuilt, which became also neoclassical. The purpose of the changes was to leave the Palace of São Cristóvão to the height of the power of the Brazilian Empire. In 1847, Parliament approved a government bill that would allocate 240 contos de reis to the completion of the reforms. The works seemed to have no end. For Senator ''Clemente Pereira (PA)'', Pedro II had to leave Sao Cristóvão, Pereira's proposal was approved, but the government did not even design a new imperial palace.

Royal residence

Prince Regent John and his family had been living in the

Paço Imperial The Paço Imperial (, ), or Imperial Palace, previously known as the Royal Palace of Rio de Janeiro and Palace of the Viceroys, is a historic building in the center of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Paço Imperial was built in the 18th ...

since their arrival in Rio de Janeiro in 1808. The prince regent felt very honored by Elias's gift of the best house in Rio and rewarded Elias with another property, not quite as grand. He began transforming the manor into a royal residence. At the time, the area of the farm was still surrounded by mangroves and communication by land with the city was difficult. Later, the wetlands were drained and the roads improved. To better accommodate the royal family, the manor house, though vast and comfortable, needed to be adapted. The most important renovation was begun at the time of the nuptials of Prince Pedro with the Archduchess

Maria Leopoldina of Austria , issue = , issue-link = #Children , issue-pipe = , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily , religion = Roman Catholicism , si ...

, in 1819, and finished 1821. The renovation was directed by English

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

John Johnston. In front of the palace, Johnston installed a decorative portico, a gift sent from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to Brazil by

Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland Lieutenant General Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland (14 August 174210 July 1817) was an officer in the British army and later a British peer. He participated in the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Long Island during t ...

. The gate, inspired by Robert Adams' porch for the "Sion House", the nobleman's residence in England, is shaped in " Coade stone" manufactured by the English company Coade & Sealy. The architectural line of the palace is similar to that of the Ajuda Palace which, left behind in Lisbon, was never finished. The Palace of São Cristóvão won deserved prominence as the new state palace of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and, subsequently, of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

Imperial residence

After the declaration of Independence of Brazil in 1822, the palace became the residence of Emperor Pedro I. The remodelling and expansion of the palace continued under Portuguese architect Manuel da Costa (1822–1826), followed by French architect Pedro José Pezerát (1826–1831), credited as the author of the definitive Neoclassical project of the building. He added a new tower to the left of the main façade and added a third floor to the palace. The works were continued after 1847 by Brazilian artist Manuel de Araújo Porto-alegre, who harmonised the style of the façades, followed by the German Theodore Marx (1857–1868).

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

painter Mario Bragaldi decorated many of the rooms of the palace, including the Throne Room and the Ambassadors' Room, with paintings in ''

trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

''. After the marriage of Pedro I and Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria in 1817, the Imperial couple resided in the palace. The future Queen of Portugal, Maria II, and the future

Emperor of Brazil The monarchs of Brazil ( Portuguese: ''monarcas do Brasil'') were the imperial heads of state and hereditary rulers of Brazil from the House of Braganza that reigned from the creation of the Brazilian monarchy in 1815 as a constituent kingdom o ...

Pedro II were born here. Empress Maria Leopoldina died in the palace in 1826. Pedro II, future Emperor, grew up and was educated in the palace, and in 1869 ordered the remodelling of the gardens. French garden designer Auguste François Marie Glaziou was put in charge of the project, which included artificial lakes, bridges, caves and fake ancient temples, all following the Romantic trend of the time. Pedro II's children were also born in the palace, including Princess Isabel, famous for having abolished

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

from Brazil in 1888. After the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889, the Imperial family left the country and the palace and its surrounding gardens became empty.

Republican period

In 1891, the building was used by Brazilian politicians writing the first Republican Constitution of the country. In 1892, the director of the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro managed to transfer the institution from the Campo de Santana to the palace. The inner decoration of the palace was dispersed, but part of it can still be found in other museums, like the Imperial Museum of

Petrópolis Petrópolis (; ), also known as The Imperial City, is a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the city of Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2010 National Brazilian Census, Petr ...

, in which the Throne Room was reassembled.

National Museum

Museu Nacional - collaborative upload 78

Founded in 1818 by

King John VI of Portugal , house = Braganza , father = Peter III of Portugal , mother = Maria I of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal , death_date = , death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portugal ...

, the National Museum was transferred to the old Imperial Palace of São Cristóvão in 1892. During its long history, its collections have been greatly expanded by acquisitions and donations, including by Emperor Pedro II, a great sponsor of the sciences. The collections included

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

(mostly meteorites), Palaeontology, Natural history,

Ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

(including many interesting works by Brazilian indigenous peoples) and

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

(mostly antiquities from ancient Egypt). Much of the art collection displayed by the Museum still consisted of what was gathered by the Emperor Pedro II himself. In this manner, it reflects 19th-century views of Anthropology, Archeology and sciences in general. Visitors could also see a few rooms of the ancient Palace with its original painted and stucco decoration, like the Throne Room, the Ambassadors' Room and the room of

Empress Teresa Cristina Dona Teresa Cristina (14 March 182228 December 1889), nicknamed "the Mother of the Brazilians", was the Empress consort of Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil, who reigned from 1831 to 1889. Born a Princess of the Kingdom of the Two Sicil ...

. These rooms still displayed a couple original pieces but were overall empty. On 2 September 2018, the palace was devastated by an extensive fire. The damage to heritage assets have been reported to be "incalculable". One of the few known surviving major artifacts is the Bendegó meteorite. After the fire, a metallic roof covering 5,000 m² upper the

debris Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can refer to ...

was built.

Gallery

Historic timeline of construction

File:PalaceSaoCristovao.jpg, Palace in the early 19th century, before the Neoclassical intervention File:Palace of Sao Cristovao between 1835 and 1840.jpg, 1835-1840 - Painting of the Imperial Palace File:Jean-Baptiste Debret - Vista do Paço de São Cristovão.jpg, 1768–1848 - Antique illustration of the palace, by

Jean-Baptiste Debret Jean-Baptiste Debret (; 18 April 1768 – 28 June 1848) was a French painter, who produced many valuable lithographs depicting the people of Brazil. Debret won the second prize at the 1798 Salon des Beaux Arts. Biography Debret studied at th ...

File:Frond, Cicéri - Palácio Imperial da Quinta da Boa Vista.jpg, 1858 - 1861 File:Paço de São Cristóvão, RJ (38979393230).jpg, The Palace in the end of the 19th century File:QuintaBoaVista1.jpg, The Imperial Palace after the Neoclassical intervention - modern days - old rosa paint File:Fire at Museu Nacional 05.jpg, The palace in flames during the night of 2 September 2018, leaving it in

ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

Exterior before the 2018 fire

File:Quinta da Boa Vista 01.jpg, Gates of the former main entrance File:Museu Nacional - UFRJ Entrada.jpg, Ancient

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

File:Quinta da Boa Vista 10.jpg, Former Imperial Palace File:Fachada Museu Nacional - UFRJ - Foco.jpg, Facade File:Quinta da Boa Vista 12.jpg, The palace seen from the garden File:Fachada Museu Nacional - UFRJ.jpg, Side front view File:Museu Nacional - UFRJ - Fachada - Detalhe.jpg, Central view File:Museu Nacional - collaborative upload 152.jpg, Front Doors File:Quinta da Boa Vista 13.jpg, Detail of one of the doors

Interior before the 2018 fire

File:Museu Nacional - UFRJ - Detalhe Teto.jpg, Ceiling detail before the restoration File:Museu Nacional, UFRJ - Quinta da Boa Vista 10.jpg, Internal details File:Museu Nacional da UFRJ - Quinta da Boa Vista no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 8.jpg, Walls and ceiling File:Museu Nacional da UFRJ - Quinta da Boa Vista no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 9.jpg, Ceiling File:Museu Nacional - collaborative upload 164.jpg, Ceiling File:Museu Nacional - collaborative upload 67.jpg, Ceiling File:Museu Nacional da UFRJ - Quinta da Boa Vista no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 6.jpg, Ceiling File:퀸타 다 보아비스타 20.jpg, Ceiling File:퀸타 다 보아비스타 15.jpg, Ceiling File:Museu Nacional - UFRJ - Exp Sala.jpg, Room File:P 20170503 112251.jpg,

Throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the mona ...

of Dom Pedro File:퀸타 다 보아비스타 18.jpg, The former Throne Room File:Sala do Trono - Museu Nacional 03.jpg, Throne Room details

Grounds

File:Maria Leopoldina com Maria da Glória e Pedro de Alcântara no colo - Quinta da Boa Vista.jpg, Statue of Empress Leopoldina with her children File:Quinta da Boa Vista 20.jpg, Monument to Emperor Pedro II in front of the palace File:Quinta da Boa Vista 04.jpg, ''Canto das Sereias'' sculpture by Nicolina Vaz de Assis File:Quinta da Boa Vista 08.jpg, Quinta's bandstand, known as the Chinese pagoda File:Guarda-corpo IV da Ponte da Quinta da Boa Vista - Rio de Janeiro - 20220909155553.jpg, "Temple of Apollo" after restoration work in 2022 File:퀸타 다 보아비스타 08.jpg, Street File:Museu Nacional - collaborative upload 76.jpg, Aerial File:Museu Nacional - collaborative upload 130.jpg, Internal Garden File:Museu Nacional da UFRJ - Quinta da Boa Vista no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 11.jpg, Garden Fountain File:Museu Nacional da UFRJ - Quinta da Boa Vista no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 13.jpg, Park File:Quinta da Boa Vista 03.jpg, Quinta da Boa Vista park lake File:Quinta da Boa Vista 02.jpg, Lake and the palace in the background File:Quinta da Boa Vista 05.jpg, Palace grounds File:Quinta da Boa Vista 07.jpg, Kayaking File:Museu Nacional RJ Brazil.jpg, Trees File:Museu Nacional da UFRJ - Quinta da Boa Vista no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 12.jpg, Vegetation File:Museu Nacional - Rio de Janeiro - 20220909143821.jpg, Fire-damaged facade of the palace completely restored, September 2022. View from the new garden

Investigations

The fire that destroyed the National Museum began in the air-conditioning equipment of

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

on the ground floor. One of the three devices did not have external grounding, there was no individual circuit breaker for each of them and a

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

was without insulation in contact with metal.

References

Quinta da Boa Vista e Paço de São Cristóvão
Rio de Janeiro Aqui. Retrieved on 2009-07-04.

External links

National Museum of Brazil
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Paco De Sao Cristovao Neoclassical architecture in Brazil Palaces in Rio de Janeiro (city) Houses completed in 1862 Sao Cristovao, Paco de National Museum of Brazil Burned buildings and structures in Brazil Collapsed buildings and structures Building collapses in 2018