Cinelândia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Cinelândia is the popular name of a major public square in the centre of Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Its official name is Praça Floriano Peixoto, in honour of the second president of Brazil, Floriano Peixoto

Floriano Peixoto

Floriano Vieira de Araújo Peixoto , April 30, 1839, Maceió, Brazil — July 29, 1895, Rio de Janeiro; born in Ipioca , was a Brazilian soldier and politician, a veteran of the War of the Triple Alliance, and the second President of Brazil.-Election and Succession as President:Floriano Peixoto...

History

In colonial times

Colonial Brazil

In the history of Brazil, Colonial Brazil, officially the Viceroyalty of Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.During the over 300 years...

, the main structure in the Cinelândia area was the Ajuda Convent, built for women around 1750. Today's square started to gain its current shape in the early 20th century, when the Brazilian government considered that Rio de Janeiro, then the capital of the Republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

, needed to be completely overhauled.

Beginning in 1904, the centre of the city was remodelled following the latest trends in hygiene and urbanism under the direction of mayor Pereira Passos. The centrepiece of the reform was a large boulevard - the Avenida Central, now Avenida Rio Branco - which was built crossing the old city centre, passing by the Ajuda Convent. Most of the old colonial houses in central Rio were demolished. The area in front of the Ajuda Convent was turned into a modern public square.

During the early decades of the 20th century a series of monumental public buildings were built facing the square. These were the Municipal Theatre

Theatro Municipal (Rio de Janeiro)

The Theatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro is located in Cinelândia in the city center of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Built in the beginning of the twentieth century, it is one of the most beautiful and important theatres in the country.The building is designed in an eclectic style, inspired by the...

(Theatro Municipal), the Brazilian National Library (Biblioteca Nacional), the Rio de Janeiro Municipality (Palácio Pedro Ernesto) and the Higher Court (Tribunal Superior). Located nearby there were the National Senate (Palácio Monroe, demolished in the 1970s) and the National School of Fine Arts, today Museu Nacional de Belas Artes

Museu Nacional de Belas Artes

The Museu Nacional de Belas Artes is a national art museum located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The museum, officially established in 1937 by the initiative of education minister Gustavo Capanema, was inaugurated in 1938, by president Getúlio Vargas...

. The square concentrated a great part of the political and cultural life of Brazil. The buildings surrounding the square, mostly following the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

Beaux-Arts architectural style, were a symbol of the modernisation of the city.

In the centre of the square, a monument to Marshal Floriano Peixoto

Floriano Peixoto

, second president of the Republic, was erected in 1910. The bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

monument, designed by sculptor Eduardo Sá and cast in France, depicts scenes of important events in Brazilian history. Another bronze statue, inaugurated in front of the Municipal Theatre, pays hommage to Carlos Gomes, Brazil's foremost 19th century composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

Cinemas

The old Ajuda Convent survived the initial remodelling of the square, but was finally demolished in 1911. In its place, Spanish

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

entrepreneur Francisco Serrador built a series of tall buildings that concentrated the best cinemas of the city. It was due to these theatres that the area became popularly known as Cinelândia ("Cinema land").

Most of the cinemas are now closed, but the region around Cinelândia is still a lively spot in Rio thanks to its bars, restaurants and cultural attractions.

History

Cinemas

See also