The monument is a tribute to the founder of the City of Rio de Janeiro, the Portuguese Estácio de Sá, where the Portuguese commander was hit by an arrow that pierced his eye, and died on February 20, 1567. It also aims to be a landmark celebration of the founding of the city.

The site has an area of 450 m², in the shape of a triangle, one of the vertices of which points to Morro Cara de Cão, where the city was founded, and is divided into two levels. On the lower floor, a bronze door, by the sculptor Honório Peçanha, gives access to the basement where the first 16th century map of Guanabara and the founder’s coat of arms are printed in relief. In it, replicas of Estácio de Sá’s tombstone and of the foundation mark are placed on a sandbox that represents the beach where he landed and founded the city. A trapezoidal glass structure on the monument’s slab creates a skylight effect in the hall, allowing the sun’s rays to enter and fall on the crypt and the landmark. On the upper floor is the commemorative landmark, an obelisk 17 meters high.

The place is equipped with computers that can be used for research and multimedia totems, where tourists and cariocas can learn a little more about the history of Rio, through audiovisual content. The center also has a space for art exhibitions, photographs, sculptures, paintings, staging and musical performances. It also has an auditorium with capacity for 37 people with a projector, screen and LCD televisions, which can be used for movie sessions, lectures, workshops, among other activities.

Curiosities
The base where the pyramid is installed was built with ancient stones, from demolitions that took place throughout the 1960s.

The bronze door of the visitation space, in the basement, displays reproductions of the coat of arms of Estácio de Sá and a map from 1574

The monument was built near where the Battle of Canoas took place in 1566. Legend has it that São Sebastião appeared amid the smoke caused by an accidental explosion and helped the Portuguese

The basement displays a replica of the tombstone of Estácio de Sá, whose original is in the Capuchinhos Church, in Tijuca

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Cultural Space Estácio de Sá Monument

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