Cathedral of Brasília.

The Cathedral of Brasilia (Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida) was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, with structural calculation by engineer Joaquim Cardoso, it was the first monument to be created in Brasilia.

Its founding stone was emplaced on September 12, 1958 and its construction was completed on May 31, 1970.

Its structure was ready in 1960, and only the circular area of ​​seventy meters in diameter appeared, from which sixteen concrete columns (pillars of parabolic section) were raised in a hyperboloid format, weighing ninety tons.

 

On May 31, 1970 it was inaugurated de facto, already with transparent external glasses.

Four bronze sculptures three meters high, representing the evangelists; the sculptures were made by Alfredo Ceschiatti with the help of the sculptor Dante Croce in 1968.

The sculptures would lead you the  entrance below the ground of the Basilica.

Inside the nave are the sculptures of three angels suspended by steel cables. The dimensions and weight of the sculptures are 2.22 m in length and 100 kg the least; 3.40 m long and 200 kg the average;

and 4.25 m in length and 300 kg the largest.

This hyperboloid structure is constructed of concrete, and it would seem that with its glass roof it was raised open towards the sky. The Niemeyer project of the Cathedral of Brasilia was based on the hyperboloids of revolution, where the sections are asymmetrical.

By itself, this structure is the result of sixteen identical assembled concrete columns. Each column has a hyperbolic section and weighs 90 tons, the set represents two hands moving towards the sky. The cathedral has four bells donated by Spanish residents in Brasilia in 1968. These bells were cast in Miranda de Ebro, Spain.

 

On the photo below, lower left corner you can see a couple of persons so you can appreciate the dimensions of the structure.

There is a replica of La Pieta that is in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

 

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Burle Marx Garden – Brasilia

This is a high view of the Burle Marx Garden in Brasilia, Brasil. At the very far back you can see or could see for the trained eye (ha!) the National Congress buildings, also on previous post.

This magnificent photo, not by itself but by the view, was taken from the Brasilia TV tower (photo of the tower below).

On weekends you can go into the Brasilia TV tower, as high as about the middle of it there is a platform where you can see all around the city. It is not covered, so if it rains you will get wet. And yes, it rained that day.

Observing the Observer

There is always someone watching someone.

Eu <3 Brasilia

Yes, it rained.

 

Palácio do Congresso Nacional – Brasilia

This is Brazil’s National Congress and it also houses the Federal Senate. In Brasilia there are many State Departments and Ministries like: Transportation, Tourism, Defense, IRS, etc.

I had a hard time which photo to show first, whether the one in B&W or the one in color, each facing different directions. At the end I added both since they are different sights of the place, which was designed by Oscar Niemeyer.

Ministry of Justice.

Ministries of Transport, Tourism, Defense….

Praça dos Cristais

Dom Bosco Sanctuary – Brasilia

 

(Text taken from the official Sanctuary Site in portuguese here.)

The Dom Bosco Sanctuary is one of the most well-known Churches in Brasilia and one of the most frequent images in the postcards of that city. It occupies a good part of Quadra 702 South, in a very central position in the Pilot Plane.

Built in honor of the patron of Brasília, São João Belchior Bosco, the Sanctuary has 80 columns of 16 meters and is decorated by stained glass in 12 shades of blue. In the interior, a chandelier of 3.5 m of height, formed by 7,400 pieces of murano glass, symbolizes Jesus, the light of the world. Doors produced in iron and bronze, with low reliefs, resemble the life of Dom Bosco.

Chandelier of the Dom Bosco Sanctuary
The construction of the Shrine was an initiative of the Salesian Congregation. Under the inspiration of the dream of Dom Bosco with Brasilia, it was also erected in honor of the Holy of Youth, a small hermitage (chapel) in front of the Paranoá Lake.

 

 

The Sanctuary was elected one of the seven wonders of Brasilia in 2008 by the International Bureau of Cultural Capitals (IBOCC), an entity based in Barcelona. With this title the Sanctuary was included by the Government of the Federal District in the tourist route of Brasília.

Although from the beginning it was called the Sanctuary of Dom Bosco, the official decree naming the parish of St. John Bosco in Sanctuary took place on 08/16/2017.

Dom Bosco is, along with the Virgin of Aparecida, the second Patron of Brasília. The first iron and the first cement arrived at the construction site of the capital, still in 1955, were used in the construction of a hermitage in homage to Santo; and every year, on the last Sunday in August, a walk to the place is made.

This is because one of the most famous prophetic dreams of Dom Bosco was with the construction of Brasilia. In 1883, a little more than a month after the arrival of the first Salesians to Brazil, Dom Bosco dreamed that he was flying over a region stretching from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean: it was the vastness of the Salesian mission in America. Between the parallels 15 and 20, when he saw a rather long and wide inlet, he heard a voice say, repeatedly,

“When you dig the mines hidden in the midst of these hills, here will appear the promised land that will pour milk and honey. It will be an inconceivable wealth. ”