Brazilian colonial gardens and the Rio de Janeiro Passeio Público

Abstract

In the Latin American colonial urban nuclei, open spaces were formally characterized by their derivation from metropolitan representative landmarks, such as pillories (symbols of justice), churches, câmaras e cadeias [municipal councils and prisons], and other governmental buildings. Franciscan conventual forecourts, the outer courts of Jesuit buildings, câmara e cadeia public squares (where official public announcements were made or the starting points of festivities took place) and military parade grounds (such as the Viceregal Palace Square in eighteenth-century Rio de Janeiro) are examples of these urban configurations in Brazil.