đMust-Visit in Rio de Janeiro!
The Real Gabinete PortuguĂȘs de Leitura (Royal Portuguese Reading Room in Portuguese), located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been named by Time Magazine as one of the most beautiful libraries in the worldđ. It houses over 350,000 books, mainly focusing on Portuguese literature.â The library has in its collection the first edition of "Os LusĂadas" (a famous Portuguese literary work) from 1572, as well as many precious books published in the 16th century. In addition, it also preserves some autographed manuscripts of Portuguese writers and hundreds of letters from writersâïž.â On September 7, 1822, Prince Pedro of Brazil declared Brazil's independence from Portuguese colonial rule and proclaimed himself Emperor of Brazil, namely Pedro Iđ§đ·.â In 1837, to preserve and promote Portuguese culture in the newly independent Brazilian Empire, a group of Portuguese-born political refugees founded this organization. Later, as more and more people donated books, the government decided to rebuild the building. Designed by Portuguese architect Rafael da Silva Castro in the Portuguese Manueline style, the current building was finally completed in 1888đïž.â Manueline architecture is a unique Portuguese Gothic architectural style of the 16th century, whose decorative elements draw inspiration from Portugal's maritime feats (ropes, marine life, navigation equipment, etc.)đ.â The exterior wall of the library is also a work of art. It was crafted from royal stone in Lisbon by Germano JosĂ© Salle and shipped to Rio. The four statues adorning it are Pedro Ălvares Cabral (regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil), LuĂs de CamĂ”es (considered the greatest poet of Portugal and the Portuguese language, author of "Os LusĂadas"), Prince Henry the Navigator, and Vasco da Gama (discoverer of the sea route to India)đż.â The statue in the middle of Pedro Ălvares Cabral.â The ceiling of the reading room features a beautiful chandelier and an iron-framed skylight, the first of its kind in Brazilâš.â #Library#WorldsMostBeautifulLibraries#Portugal#BrazilTravel#RioDeJaneiro#RioDeJaneiroTravel
