Rio de Janeiro, city of God

Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, the city was initially the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, a captaincy of the Portuguese Empire. Later, in 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil, a State of the Portuguese Empire. In 1808, when the Portuguese Royal Court transferred itself from Portugal to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro became the chosen seat of the court of Queen Maria I of Portugal, who subsequently, in 1815, under the leadership of her son, the Prince Regent, and future King João VI of Portugal, raised Brazil to the dignity of a kingdom, within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves. Rio stayed the capital of the pluricontinental Lusitanian monarchy until 1822, when the War of Brazilian Independence began. This is one of the few instances in history that the capital of a colonising country officially shifted to a city in one of its colonies. Rio de Janeiro subsequently served as the capital of the independent monarchy, the Empire of Brazil, until 1889, and then the capital of a republican Brazil until 1960.

Rio de Janeiro represents the second largest GDP in the country (and 30th largest in the world in 2008), estimated at about R$343 billion (IBGE/2008) (nearly US$201 billion), and is headquarters to two of Brazil's major companies—Petrobras and Vale, and major oil companies and telephony in Brazil, besides the largest conglomerate of media and communications companies in Latin America, the Globo Organizations. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17% of national scientific production—according to 2005 data.

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History

Europeans first encountered Guanabara Bay on January 1,1502 (hence Rio de Janeiro, "January River"), by a Portuguese expedition under explorer Gaspar de Lemos captain of a ship in Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet, or under Gonçalo Coelho.[11] Allegedly the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci participated as observer at the invitation of King Manuel I in the same expedition. The region of Rio was inhabited by the Tupi, Puri, Botocudo and Maxakalí peoples

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In 1555, one of the islands of Guanabara Bay, now called Villegagnon Island, was occupied by 500 French colonists under the French admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon. Consequently, Villegagnon built Fort Coligny on the island when attempting to establish the France Antarctique colony.

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Climate

Rio has a tropical wet and dry or savanna type (Aw ) that closely borders a tropical monsoon climate (Am ) according to the Köppen climate classification, and is often characterized by long periods of heavy rain from December to March.[25] In inland areas of the city, temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) are common during the summer, though rarely for long periods, while maximum temperatures above 27 °C (81 °F) can occur on a monthly basis.

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Along the coast, the breeze, blowing onshore and offshore, moderates the temperature. Because of its geographic situation, the city is often reached, especially during autumn and winter, by cold fronts advancing from Antarctica, causing frequent weather changes. It is mostly in summer that strong showers provoke catastrophic floods and landslides. The mountainous areas register greater rainfall since they constitute a barrier to the humid wind that comes from the Atlantic.

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Education

The city has several universities and research institutes. The Ministry of Education has certified approximately 99 upper-learning institutions in Rio. Some notable higher education institutions are:

• Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ);
• Federal University of the Rio de Janeiro state (UNIRIO);
• Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ);
• Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ, often nicknamed Rural);
• Fluminense Federal University (UFF);
• Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio);
• Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV);
• Military Institute of Engineering (IME);
• Superior Institute of Technology in Computer Science of Rio de Janeiro (IST-Rio);
• Estácio de Sá University (UNESA);
• National Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA).

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Carnival

Carnaval, is an annual celebration in the Roman Catholic tradition that allows merry-making and red meat consumption before the more sober 40 days of Lent penance which culminates with Holy or Passion Week and Easter.

1. Cordão do Bola Preta: Parades in the centre of the city. It is one of the most traditional carnavals. In 2008, 500,000 people attended in one day.[120] In 2011, a record 2 million people attended the city covering three different metro stations!
2. Suvaco do Cristo: Band that parades in the Botanic Garden, directly below the Redeemer statue's arm. The name translates to 'Christ's armpit' in English, and was chosen for that reason.
3. Carmelitas: Band that was supposedly created by nuns, but in fact is just a theme chosen by the band. It parades in Santa Teresa, a bairro from where one can see beautiful panoramas.

The Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro is a world famous festival held before Lent every year and considered the biggest carnival in the world

In 1840, the first Carnaval was celebrated with a masked ball. As years passed, adorned floats and costumed revelers became a tradition among the celebrants. Carnaval is known as a historic root of Brazilian music.

From the beautiful and sexy beaches of Rio de Janeiro to Rio Carnival and the Rio Nightlife, the type of energy that the city of Rio emulates is just simply electrifying. What is even more exhilarating are the deliciously bronzed samba dancers, the pulsating music, the energy and applause of the spectators filled with Cariocas and visitors from around the world who call come to the same place to experience the world famous Rio Carnival.

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Sports

As in the rest of Brazil, football is the most popular sport. The city's major teams are Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama. Madureira, Bangu and Bonsucesso are three small clubs.

Rio de Janeiro was one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil was the host nation. The Maracanã Stadium hosted seven matches, including the final.