at a glance

along this river branch, called the catete path, a road leads up to botafogo, crossing through largo do machado, a meeting point for the neighborhoods of catete, flamengo and laranjeiras. 

up until the early 19th century, the area surrounding catete was largely unpopulated - the path leading to the commercially vibrant botafogo went through this region and stimulated settlements, urbanization and development.

in the early 19th century catete was acquired by the royal family of dom pedro ii and the royal palace was built along the beach - it eventually became the property of the republic of brazil in 1858.

Famous residents of the district include António Clemente Pinto, the Barão de Nova Friburgo, a Baron who first raised the Palace, Getúlio Vargas, the well-loved President, and the iconic singer, Carmen Miranda.