at a glance

the royal couple's regular visits were also interrupted by the cholera epidemic that hit the area during the mid-nineteenth century. travel was curtailed between the engenho velho (old sugarcane mill) and the novo engenho dos jesuítas (new sugarcane mill of the jesuits) on two major thoroughfares - the caminho cabuçu (cabuçu road) and the caminho do macaco (monkey road).

a baron named drummond bought the plantation in 1872 and, in partnership with the visconde de silva, the barão de são francisco filho, bezerra de menezes, and themistocles petrocochino initiated the companhia arquitetônica de villa izabel (villa isabel architectural company).

the result of this venture was one of the first planned neighborhoods in the city of rio de janeiro. the name 'villa isabel' was given to the neighborhood in honor of princess isabel. by 1884, the jardim zoológico (zoological garden) was established.