The national commemorative Exhibition of the centenary of the opening of the Ports of Brazil, also known as Brazilian National Exposition of 1908 or the National Exposition of Brazil at Rio de Janeiro, marked a hundred years since the opening of the Brazilian ports acelebrated Brazil's trade and development. It opened in

Urca Urca is a residential neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a population of nearly 7,000. Although most of the neighborhood dates from the 1920s, parts of it are much older. What is now called the Fortaleza de São João (Rio de Janeiro), F ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

on 11 August, stayed open for 3 months and received over 1 million visitors.

Location

The 41 person executive committee considered several locations in Rio de Janeiro, before selecting a 182,000 m² site between Praia da Saudade and Praia Vermelha in Urca.

Opening

The fair was opened (a month later than planned) by

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Afonso Pena Afonso Augusto Moreira Pena (30 November 1847 – 14 June 1909), often referred to as Afonso Pena, was a Brazilian lawyer, professor, and politician who served as the sixth president of Brazil, from 1906 until his death in 1909. Pena was 1906 Br ...

. The main entrance was through a hundred foot high illuminated gateway designed by René Barba. On arrival, the president was escorted from the

Catete Palace The Catete Palace (, ) is an urban mansion in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The property stretches from ''Rua do Catete'' (Catete Street) to ''Praia do Flamengo'' ( Flamengo Beach). Construction began in 1858 and ended in ...

to the opening gate by

lancer A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by India, Egypt, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

s from the 9th Cavalry Regiment, and then escorted by the exhibition's commissioners to the central palace while canons were fired and the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

was played.

Pavilions

There were pavilions from Brazilian states of

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Santa Catarina,

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, and the Federal District of Brazil, along with a Portugal pavilion and ones for industry, Post and Telegraph, the Fire Department, a theater and a music pavilion.

Bahia state pavilion

The Bahia pavilion, which occupied 54,359 square feet, was designed by Italian architect Rafael Rebecchi. Its displays included artwork by José Rodrigues Nunes, Bento Capinam, Macario, and

Victor Meirelles Victor Meirelles de Lima (18 August 1832 – 22 February 1903) was a Brazilian painter and teacher who is best known for his works relating to his nation's culture and history. From humble origins, his talent was soon recognized, being admitted a ...

, and its external sculpture was made by

Rodolfo Bernardelli José Maria Oscar Rodolfo Bernardelli y Thierry (18 December 1852 – 7 April 1931) was a Mexican-born Brazilian sculptor and art professor, of Italian ancestry. Biography He was the oldest of four children born to a violinist and a dancer. His ...

Minas Gerais state pavilion

PSM V74 D122 The minas geraes building at the exposition

The Minas Gerais pavilion was also designed by Rafael Rebecchi. It had interior murals by Crispim do Amaral including a series personifying agriculture, mineralogy, manufactures and the liberal arts. Exhibits included aspects of gold and diamond mining including a small quartz crushing machine and gold-washing machinery with washers and miners demonstrating the processes involved.

São Paulo state pavilion

The São Paulo state pavilion was designed by architect

Ramos de Azevedo Francisco de Paula Ramos de Azevedo (8 December 1851 — 13 June 1928) was a Brazilian architect, known for designing various buildings and landmarks in São Paulo, such as the Teatro Municipal, the Mercado Municipal, and the Pinacoteca. He w ...

. Its commissioners were Carlos Botelho and Antonio Barros Barreto, and it covered about twenty thousand square feet.

Portugal pavilion

The Portugal pavilion building was provided by Brazil, designed by Francisco Isidro Monteiro, was inspired by the southern façade of the

Jerónimos Monastery The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery (, ) is a former monastery of the Hieronymites, Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Santa Maria de Belém, Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal. It became the nec ...

Industry pavilion

A military college on the site was converted to the industry pavilion for the expo (and afterwards was used by the 3rd Infantry Regiment).

States pavilion

This permanent building built for the exhibition, and is now the Earth Sciences Museum.

Bangu textiles factory building

The Bangu textiles factory (''Fábrica de Tecidos Bangu'') displayed its own woven materials.

Music pavilion

The music pavilion was designed by Jorge Lossio, decorated by

Benedito Calixto Benedito Calixto de Jesus (14 October 1853 – 31 May 1927) was a Brazilian painter. His works usually depicted figures from Brazil and Brazilian culture, including a famous portrait of the '' bandeirante'' Domingos Jorge Velho in 1923, and scen ...

and intended to have an Egyptian appearance.

Gallery

File:Exposição Nacional de 1908.jpg, Postcard showing the botanic garden in the foreground File:PSM V74 D127 Building at the exposition.png, Music pavilion File:PSM V74 D113 The bangu factory building.png, The Bangu factory building File:Exposição Nacional de 1908 - Palácio dos Estados - Revista Kosmos.jpg, The States pavilion File:Exposição Nacional de 1908 - Palácio da Indústria.jpg, Postcard showing the industry pavilion File:PSM V74 D118 The san paulo pavilion at the exhibition.png, São Paulo state pavilion File:Exposição Nacional de 1908 - Porta Monumental.jpg, alt=, Postcard showing the entrance portal

References

External links

Presentation showing the pavilions, current views of their position and their locations on a map
{{List of world's fairs in South America 1908 in Brazil 20th century in Rio de Janeiro World's fairs in Brazil 1908 establishments in Brazil 1908 disestablishments in South America Events in Rio de Janeiro (city) First Brazilian Republic