catedral de são joão batista is a structure with special meaning to the city, catedral de são joão batista has been the center for catholic worship since it was inaugurated - visitors with a keen eye, may notice that the church slightly leans to the left, due to the clay ground that make up its foundations. thus, it is also referred to as the leaning cathedral.

bridging the gap between education and industry, is the ultra modern instituto politécnico - iprj of the universidade do estado do rio de janeiro, originally built to be a secondary collage, the campus was changed into a polytechnic institute, in 1989, which focused on technological research.

 however, not one to resist new opportunities, the iprj was incorporated by the universidade do estado do rio de janeiro a few years later, and is now a education center that focuses on all types of technologies, especially engineering and modeling.