Description: Rio de Janeiro is known for Carnival, it's glorious beaches, Copacabana and Ipanema and famous sites such as Corcovado and Sugarloaf Mountains. It is also a city with a wealth of history, interesting museums, churches and monasteries. We spent two days walking the downtown area of the financial district exploring and wished we would have allotted more time to visit all of the remarkable sites that Rio has to offer.
Visited the Candelaria Church…one of the most beautiful and historical churches in the Rio area. The church was built in the 18th century and is richly decorated, combining a Baroque facade with a Neoclassical and Neo-Renaissance inner decoration. . It has a Latin Cross plan, marble lining and bronze engraved doors. The history of the church has been painted on panels in the interior. The area around the church was the site of a massacre in 1993, which brought worldwide attention to the issue of police brutality toward street children in Brazil. The church's history began in the 17th century when a ship called Candelária almost sank during a storm on the sea. When it arrived in Rio, the Spaniards built a small chapel, dedicating it to Our Lady of Candelaria. By the 18th century, the church was in need of repairs and Portuguese engineer, Francisco Roscio built the new church that was dedicated in 1811.
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