2025 Santa Teresa and Cathedral of Saint Sebastian

The next place that Gus took me to was the Santa Teresa neighbourhood. We went there for two reasons, lunch and so that I could check out the street art in this very artsy area.

Santa Teresa was named after the Santa Teresa Convent which was built in the 1750’s.

Santa Teresa Tram

The Santa Teresa Tram line was built in 1872 to connect the neighbourhood with downtown Rio.

More of Oz’s Useless Trivia

• The Santa Teresa Tram was painted yellow because the other colours that they were painted blended in the with greenery of the neighbourhood.
• The first trams were originally drawn by mules
• In 1896 the tram line was electrified
• The current tram cars are replicas that were built in around 2015

The local football (soccer) team won their league last season and this mural was painted in honour of their achievement.

Some very happy looking people!

Santa Teresa Street Art and surrounds

Whilst Gus parked the car I went for a bit of a wander and checked out the street art that was near by to the restaurant.

Lunch – Armazém São Joaquim

Gus’ original idea was for us to dine in a restaurant across the road from Armazém São Joaquim, but it was closed as it was a Tuesday. No issue as across the road was another good restaurant, one known for its Feijoada.

Feijoada is a deconstructed black bean stew that usually includes stewed beef or pork or both. Ours had both beef and local pork sausage similar to chorizo. It was pretty tasty. BTW the biscuit looking things were pork crackling, yum!

This was the serve for one person, I am glad that I invited Gus to join me for lunch. More on that later.

I recommend Armazém São Joaquim, they were pretty busy with locals, especially in their courtyard. They also had a local guitarist playing so great local music.

Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian

Next it was time to check out the Cathedral of Saint Sebastian, Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião.

The outside of the Cathedral did not really inspire me. It was designed to resemble a Mayan Pyramid. Not really sure why a Catholic Cathedral would be modeled on Mayan Architecture. It was constructed between 1964 and 1979 and is 75m (246ft) high.

Once you get inside though, it is a completely different experience, with four large stained glass windows that go from door height to the top of the building. They are about 64m (210ft) in hide.

The Cathedral can sit about 5,000 people or host about 20,000 if they are standing.

Sculptures and Statues

In the grounds of the Cathedral of Saint Sebastian there are a number of sculptures and statues.

Pope John Paul II

He apparently visited the Cathedral twice.

Mother (now Saint) Teresa

Homeless Jesus

Trash Bag Sculpture

Is this a sculpture or just my imagination that I can see a dog made from the trash bags?

Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading

The last stop on day 1 of my tour with Gus was the Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading. It used to be considered a hidden gem of Rio, but Instagram has made it famous. It was found by 43 Portuguese Immigrants in 1837 with the building being built between 1880 and 1887.

The out side is fairly non-descript, but inside… WoW

Stained Glass Skylight

This is what sets everything off..

The Bookshelves

I compared this to Trinity College Library in Dublin and think it might edge it when it comes the look of the place. Though Trinity is definitely one of the most amazing libraries in the world, the Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading felt more like a library than a monument like Trinity.

Day 2 in Rio

What a full day and there is more to come on Day 3, can’t wait. To do Rio right I expect that a week is needed.