at a glance

home to the sugar loaf, one of the most famous landmarks of rio de janeiro, urca is a residential district located in the zona sul (south zone) of rio de janeiro.

the greater city of rio truly has some remarkable neighborhoods - but few have a historical and cultural heritage as unique and important as  urca - the very spot where the city of rio de janeiro was founded.

before the 20th century the area was purely a military zone and differed signficantly from its current character - geographically  as well as demographically.

as such, the strip of land currently extending from the 'praia vermelha' (red beach) to the felix laranjeiras square and the portugal avenue didn't existed. at the time, the famous hills of urca, sugar loaf and  cara de cão (dogface) formed an island, disconnected from the mainland.