at a glance

although not an official neighborhood, the part of the city known as largo do machado is among the most iconic and culturally important in rio de janeiro - it is located in the southern edge of the catete neighborhood and is surrounded by the neighborhoods of laranjeiras, to the west, and flamengo, to the east.

the name of the region derives from the main square in the area, a commercial center called Largo do Machado - in the past,  this location was part of the pitangueiras field, a large marsh placed right beside the carioca river

only in the early 19th century these lands started to be effectively used as residential areas, along with the nearby orange-tree field, which would be converted into the current laranjeiras neighborhood.

the portuguese equivalent for 'orange-tree' is 'laranjeira' - while largo do machado can be loosely translated as 'square of the axe'.