at a glance

marechal hermes is a neighborhood located on the ilha do governador (governor's island) in the north zone (zona norte), one of rio de janeiro three zones. the bairro (neighborhood) borders the communities of campo dos afonsos, deodoro and guadalupe, honório gurgel, bento ribeiro and vila valqueire.

the bairro is a planned community developed in 1913. it was envisioned as a proletarian village for the area's workers. the idea originated with the then president of the republic -  field marshal hermes da fonseca to address the shortage of affordable housing in the area at the beginning of the last century.

when the term of the hermes government ended in 1914, the contested project ceased, with only 165 out of 1350 planned buildings completed. because of these small structures the development was referred to as portugal pequeno (little portugal) as well as for the many portuguese who lived here.