The Largo do Boticário (Apothecary's Square) is a square in the

Cosme Velho Cosme Velho is a neighborhood in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro, adjacent to Laranjeiras. Its main street is ''Rua Cosme Velho'', an extension of ''Rua das Laranjeiras''. Cosme Velho is frequently visited by tourists. The ''Estação de Ferro ...

neighborhood of the city of

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 ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The square can be reached by the Beco do Boticário (Apothecary's Alley), that passes by the

Carioca River The Carioca River (Portuguese: Rio Carioca) is a river in the state of Rio de Janeiro state in southeastern Brazil. It emerges from two springs on the southeast slopes of the Tijuca Massif in the protected Mata Atlantica forest of Tijuca Nationa ...

. The area is characterized by large,

neo-colonial Neocolonialism is the continuation or reimposition of imperialist rule by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony). Neocolonialism takes the form of economic imperialism, gl ...

houses and

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

vegetation.

History

The name of the alley and square are derived from Joaquim Luís da Silva Souto,

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

, who had an establishment on the old Rua Direita, today's Rua Primeiro de Março in downtown Rio. Apothecary Silva Souto was very successful, even treating members of the royal family. He bought land in the Cosme Velho neighborhood and moved there around 1831. In 1846, marshal Joaquim Alberto de Souza Silveira—a frequent visitor to the royal court—lived there and author

Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...

was his godfather. The defining feature of the square appeared in the 1920s. Edmundo Bittencourt, founder of the newspaper ''

Correio da Manhã ''Correio da Manhã'' () is a Portuguese daily newspaper from Portugal. Published in Lisbon, it is the most circulated daily newspaper in Portugal. History and profile ''Correio da Manhã'' was established in 1979. The paper is based in Lisbon. ...

'', bought the property and began to build neocolonial houses. This trend continued into the 1930s and 1940s with the help of diplomat, architect, art collector, and resident, Rodolfo da Siqueira. Sylvia de Arruda Botelho Bittencourt her husband Paulo inherited the ''Correio da Manhã'', moved into the square, and assisted with its preservation. Some of the original houses near the square were refurbished by modernist architects like

Lucio Costa Lucio is an Italian and Spanish male given name derived from the Latin name ''Lucius''. In Portuguese, the given name is accented Lúcio. Lucio is also an Italian surname. Given name * Lúcio (Lucimar Ferreira da Silva) (born 1978), Brazilian f ...

and

Gregori Warchavchik Gregori I. Warchavchik (April 2, 1896 – July 27, 1972) was a Jewish-Brazilian architect. Warchavchik was born in Odessa, Ukraine which was then a part of the Russian Empire. He began his architectural studies at Odessa University and moved to Ro ...

, using original materials authentic to the colonial era salvaged from demolition projects around the city."Largo resiste ao tempo"

O Estado de S. Paulo ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to berliner on October 17, 2021. It has t ...

. 01 de setembro de 2008.

Present day

During its "golden age", the Largo do Boticário became filled with huge houses owned by well-known figures in Brazilian society and foreigners attracted by the parties and social events held by the neighborhood's illustrious residents. Currently, however, the once-decadent area has fallen into decay. Between 2006 and 2008, one of the houses was taken over by a group of homeless people. The Largo do Boticário is one of the few places in the city from which one can see the

. Near the square, several other historic sites in the

neighborhood can be found, including the Solar de Abacaxis house and the Corcovado Railway. In the 1970s, the square was featured in a scene in the movie '' Moonraker''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Largo do Boticario Squares in Rio de Janeiro Neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro (city)