Presented by the    Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, the study O gnaisse facoidal: a mais carioca das rochas - Augen Gneiss: the More Carioca of the Rocks, by Kátia Leite Mansur, Ismar Souza Carvalho, Carlos Fernando Moura Delphim and Emílio V. Barroso, shows how The city of Rio de Janeiro is known by its natural beauties - The mountains and the sea make the city the postcard of Brazil.

The sculpture of the carioca landscape is closely related to the augen gneiss, very resistant rock to the weathering and, for this reason, it stands out in the relief - It gives form for Sugar Loaf (pão de açúcar)and corcovado, for example.

Augen gneiss was used in the construction of most of the historical buildings of the city, including museums and churches, many of them were built in the 19th century - It was used in the sculpture of ornaments, facades and frames of doors and windows.