Catete Palace

Former Brazilian presidential palace

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Portuguese. Click [show] for important translation instructions.

*   * Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
* Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
* You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is `Content in this edit is translated from the existing Portuguese Wikipedia article at [[:pt:Palácio do Catete]]; see its history for attribution.`
* You may also add the template `{{Translated|pt|Palácio do Catete}}` to the talk page.
* For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

|

Catete Palace

Palácio do Catete

Former Presidential Palace; now Republic Museum

General information
Status| museum
Architectural style| Neoclassical
Location| Flamengo
Address| Rua do Catete, 153
Town or city| Rio de Janeiro
Country| Brazil
Coordinates| 22°55′33″S 43°10′34″W﻿ / ﻿22.92583°S 43.17611°W﻿ / -22.92583; -43.17611
Current tenants| Ministry of Culture (Museu da República)
Construction started| 1854
Completed| 1867
Renovated| 1883
Client| António Clemente Pinto, Baron of Nova Friburgo
Owner| Brazilian government
Technical details
Floor count| 3
Design and construction
Architect(s)| Carl Friedrich Gustav Waehneldt
Website
museudarepublica.org.br

National Historic Heritage of Brazil

Designated| 1938
Reference no.| 153

The Catete Palace (Portuguese: Palácio do Catete, IPA: [paˈlasju du kaˈtetʃi]) is an urban mansion in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The property stretches from Rua do Catete (Catete Street) to Praia do Flamengo (Flamengo Beach). Construction began in 1858 and ended in 1867. It was Brazil's presidential palace from 1897 to 1960, and the site of Getúlio Vargas' suicide. It now houses the Museu da República (Republic Museum) and a theatre. The Catete underground rail station is adjacent.

## History

[edit]

The Baron and Baroness of Nova Friburgo with a model of the Catete Palace in the background (undated)

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

The seat of the executive branch of Brazil was the Itamaraty Palace in Rio de Janeiro. In 1897, President Prudente de Morais became ill and Vice President Manuel Vitorino 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 from 1897 until 1960, when the capital and the Federal District were transferred to Brasília.

Various historical events happened in the palace halls, such as the death of President Afonso Pena in 1909; the signing of the declaration of war against the German Empire and its allies in 1917, during World War I; the visit and hosting of Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, in 1934; the declaration of war against the Axis in World War II in 1942; the suicide of President Getúlio Vargas in 1954, with a shot in the heart, in his bedroom on the third floor of the palace; among others.

## Gallery

[edit]

* Main façade of the Catete Palace with statues of the Muses at the top, 1897.

* The palace during the funeral of President Afonso Pena, 15 June 1909

* The main staircase of the former Presidential Palace

* The Ministerial Room

* President Vargas' bedroom

* Allegorical sculpture

* Statue on the lake

* Palace grounds

## See also

[edit]

* Catetinho
* Palácio do Planalto
* Palácio da Alvorada

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* France
* BnF data

Other|

* IdRef