Humaitá is a residential district in the South Zone of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is situated between the foot of Corcovado Mountain and the

Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon (Portuguese: ''Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas'') is a lagoon in the district of Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro, Lagoa in the Zona Sul (South Zone) area of Rio de Janeiro. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing sea wate ...

. Neighbouring districts are

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

, Lagoa and Jardim Botânico. The name of the district commemorates the Siege of Humaitá in southern

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, fought during the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

in August 1868. In 1657, Father José Martins de Matos, Vicar of the Bishopric dedicated a chapel (then recently constructed, on the wooded lower slopes of Corcovado, a site at the end of the street now called Rua Viuva Lacerda) and opened the "Caminho Novo" (new path/way) to São Clemente ( St. Clement). Nowadays this path has become a major thoroughfare, Rua São Clemente, which passes through Botafogo and Humaitá. In September 2004 the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro created a "Polo Gastronômico" (

Gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between Human food, food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well ver ...

Precinct) in the area bounded by the Streets São Clemente, Humaitá, Visconde Silva, Visconde de Caravelas, Pinheiro Guimarães, Real Grandeza, Mena Barreto, São João Batista and Voluntários da Pátria, all within Humaitá and neighbouring Botafogo.

References

Neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro (city) {{RiodeJaneiro-geo-stub