at a glance

this new residential area developed further with time, as italian and spanish immigrants were also attracted to the focal point of european culture in the middle of rio. by the 1950s the parish niche to our lady of fátima in praça presidente aguirre cerda was created in praça presidente aguirre cerda. later the  guatemala school was built right beside it.

towards the end of the century the city center suffered a steady population decline as living conditions changed and new and better urbanizations appeared in the south zone (zona sul)of the city. to counter this trend, a number of initiatives were put in place to revitalize the center.

after years of continuous decline, this neighborhood is now going through a process of gentrification, mostly driven by the revitalization of centro, the very significant re-development of lapa, and improved overall safety conditions.