The Portuguese Royal Library ( Port. Real Gabinete Português de Leitura ) is a library located in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil .
| Portuguese royal library | |
|---|---|
| port. Real Gabinete Português de Leitura | |
| A country | |
| Address |  Brazil , Rio de Janeiro , rua Luís de Camões 30 |
| Founded by | May 14, 1837 |
| Fund | |
| Fund volume | 350 thousand storage units |
| Other information | |
| Director | Antonio Gomes da Costa |
| Web site | |
| Awards |   |
For its merits, the library was repeatedly awarded orders. Because of its external and internal decoration, its building is one of the city sights and has repeatedly appeared in various films. In 2014, Time magazine named it the fourth most beautiful library in the world [1] .
Content
- 1 History
- 2 Funds
- 3 Gallery
- 4 See also
- 5 notes
- 6 References
History
The library was founded in 1837 by a group of 43 political emigrants from Portugal to promote Portuguese culture in the capital of the Brazilian Empire . Since 1900 it became public.
The library building was designed in the style of the new Manueline by the Portuguese architect Rafael da Silva i Castro and was built from 1880 to 1887 [2] . The Brazilian emperor Pedro II laid the first stone in the foundation of the building on June 10, 1880 , and his daughter, Princess Isabella of Brazil , inaugurated the library with her husband on September 10, 1887 .
The facade of the building was created in the image of the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon and delivered to Rio de Janeiro by ship. The statues depict Pedra Cabral , Luis de Camoes , Heinrich the Navigator and Vasco da Gama . The bas-reliefs depict Fernand Lopis , Gilles Vicente , Alexander Herculano and Juan de Almeida . The reading room also has a neo-Manuelist style, including bookshelves, a chandelier and a stained-glass ceiling.
The history of the Brazilian Academy of Literature is also associated with the library, since its first meetings were held here under the chairmanship of Machado de Assis .
Funds
The library has the largest collection of works in Portuguese outside of Portugal. Funds with about 350 thousand storage units include the first edition of Camoens' Lusiad , the manuscript of one of the comedies of Machado de Assis, and much more. Each year the library receives about six thousand volumes from Portugal. You can also find a collection of works by Jose Maloa and other artists.
The library publishes the magazine Convergência Lusíada and provides Portuguese language, literature, history, anthropology and art courses for university students.
Gallery
Reading room interior
Chandelier Chandelier
Stained glass ceiling
Mosaic floor
See also
- Portuguese Literary Lyceum
Notes
Links
Official website of the library (port.)