Rio de Janeiro

Libraries and Museums

The city's National Library was founded in 1810 to house the remains of the Royal Library of Ajuda, brought to Brazil from Portugal after the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon. There are many other libraries in the city.

Despite losing its title as capital city, Rio remained a center of culture after 1960. The Brazilian Academy of Letters and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences are in the city. The National Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1818 and houses important twentieth-century works by leading Brazilian artists. The National Museum has a large collection of pre-Columbian ceramics, dinosaur fossils, and stuffed wildlife. Rio also hosts the National Historical Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Indian Museum.