The Catete Palace ( pt, Palácio do Catete, ) is an urban mansion in

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 b ...

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

neighborhood. The property stretches from ''Rua do Catete'' (Catete Street) to ''Praia do Flamengo'' ( Flamengo Beach). Construction began in 1858 and ended in 1867. From 1897 to 1960, it was Brazil's presidential palace and the site of

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

' suicide. It now houses the ''Museu da República'' (Republic Museum) and a theatre. The Catete underground rail station is adjacent.

History

The building was built as the residence of family of the Portuguese-born Brazilian coffee producer António Clemente Pinto, Baron of Nova Friburgo, in the then capital of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

. It was called the Palace of Largo Valdetaro and Palace of Nova Friburgo. With the design of German architect Carl Friedrich Gustav Waehneldt, dated 1858, the work began with the demolition of the old house. The construction officially ended in 1866, but the finishing works still continued for over a decade. After the death of the Baron and the Baroness, their son Antônio Clemente Pinto Filho, the Count of São Clemente, sold the property in 1889, shortly before the Proclamation of the Republic of Brazil, to an investors group, who founded the ''Companhia Grande Hotel Internacional'' (Grande Hotel Internacional Company). This development, however, did not succeed in turning the palace into a luxury hotel. Due to the economic crisis in the late 1880s and early 1890s (The ''

Encilhamento The Encilhamento was an economic bubble that boomed in the late 1880s and early 1890s in Brazil, bursting during the early years of the First Brazilian Republic (1889–1894) and leading to an institutional and a financial crisis. Two Finance ...

''), the venture went bankrupt, and its titles acquired by counselor Francisco de Paula Mayrink. Five years later, Mayrink paid off debts to the

Bank of Brazil Banco do Brasil S.A. ( en, Bank of Brazil) is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Brasília, Brazil. The oldest bank in Brazil, and among the oldest banks in continuous operation in the world, it was founded by John VI, King ...

. The seat of the executive branch of Brazil was the Itamaraty Palace in Rio de Janeiro. In 1897,

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Prudente de Morais Prudente José de Morais e Barros (; 4 October 1841 – 3 December 1902) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who was the third president of Brazil. He is notable as the first civilian president of the country, the first to be elected by dire ...

became ill and Vice President

Manuel Vitorino Manuel Vitorino Pereira (30 January 1853 – 9 November 1902) was Governor of Bahia from 1889 to 1890 and the second vice president of Brazil, serving under President Prudente de Morais from 1894 to 1898. He also served as the President of ...

took office as interim. He acquired the Catete Palace and over there installed the seat of government. Officially, the palace was the seat of the

Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

from 1897 until 1960, when the capital and the Federal District were transferred to

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

. Various historical events happened in the palace halls, such as the death of President

Afonso Pena Afonso Augusto Moreira Pena (; 30 November 1847 – 14 June 1909) was a Brazilian politician who served as the sixth president of Brazil between 1906 and 1909. Before his political career, Pena had been an attorney and legal scholar. He was the ...

in 1909; the signing of the declaration of war against the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

and its allies in 1917, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

; the visit and hosting of Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

, in 1934; the declaration of war against the Axis in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1942; the suicide of President

in 1954, with a shot in the heart, in his bedroom on the third floor of the palace; among others.

Gallery

File:Palacio Catete-1897.jpg, Main façade of the Catete Palace with statues of the

Muses In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

at the top, 1897. File:Post-mortem Afonso Pena.jpg, Funeral of President Afonso Pena in the palace, 15 June 1909 File:Museu da República.jpg, The main staircase of the former Presidential Palace File:Museu reublica salao ministerial.jpg, The Ministerial Room File:Quarto de Getúlio Vargas 01.jpg, President Vargas' bedroom File:Palácio do Catete0015.JPG, Allegorical sculpture File:Palácio do Catete0054.JPG, Statue on the lake File:Jardins do Palácio do Catete (2).jpg, Palace grounds

History

Gallery

See also