São Cristóvão (officially named Imperial de São Cristóvão) is a traditional neighborhood in the north 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.

History

The first inhabitants were the

Tamoio The Tupi people, a subdivision of the Tupi-Guarani linguistic families, were one of the largest groups of indigenous peoples in Brazil before its colonization. Scholars believe that while they first settled in the Amazon rainforest, from abo ...

Indians. After

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 ...

was discovered and colonized by

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

inhabited the place. In 1759, the

Marquis of Pombal A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

expelled the Jesuits, and the farms of the region were divided up to form small farms and quintas (residences located in rural properties). One of these was the ''

Quinta da Boa Vista The Quinta da Boa Vista () is a public park of great historical importance located in the São Cristóvão (Rio de Janeiro), São Cristóvão neighbourhood, in the North zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The park was part of the garden ...

''. In 1810, King

John VI of Portugal '' Dom'' John VI (; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), known as "the Clement" (), was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825, and after the recognition of Brazil's independence, titular Emperor of Brazil ...

adopted the Quinta da Boa Vista as his official residence, the

Paço de São Cristóvão Paço de São Cristóvão (; ; also known as Palácio Imperial or Palácio Imperial de São Cristóvão) was an imperial palace located in the Quinta da Boa Vista park in the Imperial Neighbourhood of São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It ...

. Around it mansions and streets were built and electric light was installed. The local aristocracy moved to the neighborhood. During the 19th century, several meters of land were reclaimed from the sea, and the swamps were drained.

Pedro II of Brazil ''Don (honorific), Dom'' PedroII (Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed the Magnanimous (), was the List o ...

, who was the country's second emperor, was born and bred in the neighborhood and from there he ruled the country for almost half a century. During his reign the neighborhood was modernized and industries were installed. He was deposed by a military coup on November 15, 1889 and the Quinta da Boa Vista became a museum in 1893. Since before the transposition of the Portuguese Court to the neighbourhood, the place attracted a growing Portuguese diaspora. Since then, the neighbourhood is home to a significant number of Portuguese heritage families. The neighbourhood is widely known for being the host of a significant Portuguese diasporic community, especially alongside the zones of Rua São Cristóvão, Euclides da Cunha, and Fonseca Telles. Today, several second and third generation children born in the Portuguese diaspora of São Cristóvão are known to have emigrated back to Europe, after acquiring Portuguese citizenship via their parents or grandparents. In 1940, the Avenida Brasil, the most important road to transport the neighborhood's production, was inaugurated. Especially during the 1950s and the 1960s, the industrialization of the area attracted migrants from several different regions of Brazil, particularly from the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

Sports

São Cristóvão is the home of

São Cristóvão de Futebol e Regatas São Cristóvão de Futebol e Regatas, more commonly referred to as São Cristóvão, is a Brazilian football club based in the neighbourhood of São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, in the eponymous state, founded on 12 October 1898. It plays ...

, which is a traditional Rio de Janeiro

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club. The club's stadium, Estádio Figueira de Melo, commonly known by its nickname ''Figueirinha'', is also located in the neighborhood.

Cultural attractions

The neighbourhood has several historical buildings, of which some are historical museums like the ''Museu do Primeiro Reinado'' and the ''Museu Militar Conde de Linhares''. The former

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

, its former library and the

zoological garden A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden ...

of Rio de Janeiro are located in the

park. There are four churches in the neighborhood, Church of São Cristóvão (''Igreja de São Cristóvão''), Church of Saint Edwigs (''Igreja de Santa Edwiges''), Church of Saint Roque (''Igreja de São Roque''), and the Church of Saint Januarius and Saint Augustine (''Igreja de São Januário e São Augustinho''). The São Cristóvão's Fair (''Feira de São Cristóvão'') is another popular attraction. It is always carried out on Sundays, by the Northeast Region community.

Notable residents

* Carlos Latuff (cartoonist)Trigo, Luciano.
'Imagens podem ser apropriadas por qualquer um', diz Carlos Latuff
" ''G1'' (''

O Globo ''O Globo'' (, ''The Globe'') is a Brazilian newspaper based in Rio de Janeiro. ''O Globo'' is the leading daily newspaper in the country and the most prominent print publication in the Grupo Globo media conglomerate. Founded by journalist Ir ...

''). 25 January 2013. Retrieved on June 18, 2014. "nascido no subúrbio

carioca Carioca ( or ) is a demonym used to refer to residents of the City of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil and their culture. Like other Brazilians, ''Cariocas'' speak Portuguese. The ''carioca'' accent and sociolect (also simply called "''carioca''", ...

de São Cristóvão:" (Carioca means from Rio de Janeiro)

References

External links

Os Bairros

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imperial de Sao Cristovao, Rio de Janeiro Neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro (city)