at a glance
when the portuguese royal family arrived in rio in 1808 grand palaces and mansions were built here, as their presence allowed for a greater growth of the areas closer to the center of the city, while the zones closer to the beaches remained mostly covered in farms, ranches and forest. buildings also began to be appear around the churches, which had been built by the jesuits in the mid-18thcentury. with the independence of brazil in 1822, new streets and avenues were built in this area. in the last decades of the 19th century a network of trade and services emerged, resulting in further development. the end of the 19th century brought even greater development of rio, but it would be during the 20th century that the south zone would flourish.
