the cathedral is hard to miss - located on avenida república do chile in the centro, adjacent to the carioca aqueduct in lapa, it stands 246 feet high and is built in the shape of a cone.  it is nearly 350 feet in diameter and has a standing-room capacity for 20,000 people - or 5,000, if they are seated.

the inspiration behind the cathedral's design is fascinating - it was built between 1964 and 1979 to replace the succession of churches that had served as rio's cathedral since the seventeenth century, but the inspiration for its form came from a less conventional, and more secular source.