Royal Portuguese Reading Room - The cathedral of Portuguese culture in Rio de Janeiro

Imposing, magnanimous, and highly regarded among intellectuals, the Royal Portuguese Reading Room, located in downtown Rio de Janeiro, is a true oasis of knowledge. With a collection of over 350,000 works and considered one of the largest and most important Portuguese-language libraries in the world, it is here that true relics live, such as the first edition of Luís de Camões's "The Lusiads," as well as rare publications from the 15th and 16th centuries.

            The story goes that in 1837, 43 Portuguese emigrants in Rio de Janeiro decided to create the library, aiming to broaden the knowledge of its members and provide an opportunity for Portuguese residents in the then capital of the Empire to express their spirit. Most of these men were local merchants, some persecuted in Portugal by absolutism. It is worth noting that the Royal Portuguese Reading Room was established 15 years after Brazil's independence.

            Inspired by the French " boutiques à lire " of the time, the Royal Portuguese Reading Room began as a small library, housing only a few hundred books, but over the years the space grew in size and importance. It was in the second half of the 19th century that its leaders built a larger headquarters befitting the institution's importance. The celebrations of the tercentenary of Camões' death [ 1880 ] provided a prime excuse to "motivate" the Portuguese colony and move the project forward.

The grandeur of the Royal Portuguese Reading Room thus extends beyond literature. Its building, with architecture inspired by the buildings of the reign of King Manuel I in Portugal and also designed by a Portuguese architect, Rafael da Silva e Castro, is a sight to behold. The façade, inspired by the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, was brought to Rio by ship and features four statues, depicting Pedro Álvares Cabral, Luís de Camões, Prince Henry the Navigator, and Vasco da Gama. The façade's medallions depict writers Fernão Lopes, Gil Vicente, Alexandre Herculano, and Almeida Garrett.

The interior, also in the Neo-Manueline style, is a place you'll want to linger and be inspired. The Reading Room's ceiling features a beautiful chandelier and an iron-framed skylight, the first example of its kind in Brazilian architecture. The space also boasts an incredible silver, ivory, and marble monument commemorating the Age of Discovery.

Here, literature, thought, information, and history are all infused. Books, magazines, newspapers, and manuscripts, many of them rare and valuable, make up the collection as a whole. We're talking about unique copies such as the 1521 "Ordenações de D. Manuel" (Ordinances of King Manuel), or a manuscript of the comedy "Tu, só tu, puro amor" (You, only you, pure love) by Machado de Assis. In addition to its vast collection of books, the library also hosts exhibitions, lectures, and various other cultural activities throughout the year, such as courses on literature and the Portuguese language. The library also boasts an important collection of paintings by José Malhoa, Carlos Reis, Eduardo Malta, Oswaldo Teixeira, and Henrique Medina.

Keeping pace with the times, the Royal Cabinet has created a digital library that provides free access to rare and historic works of Portuguese literature, accessible anywhere in the world, perpetuating not only the Portuguese language but also the Portuguese spirit of discovery.

 

Text: Carla Martins

Photos: All Rights Reserved