at a glance

vasco da gama is a neighborhood located in the north zone (zona oeste), one of rio de janeiro four zones. the bairro (neighborhood) borders the communities of são cristóvão, benfica and caju.

the bairro's name refers to an urban development project that began in 1998 and included upgrades to the area near the headquarters and stadium of the clube de regatas vasco da gama (vasco da gama rowing club), as well as the surrounding properties.

this area used to be know as the barreira do vasco (vasco da gama barrier), due to the club's stadium, more popularly called são januário (saint january), which opened in 1927 - the club fields a  much loved soccer team as well as several other sports disciplines.