Thecitycomesdownthehill

The irregularity of the city built on Morro do Castelo contrasted with the regularity of the one beginning to take shape on the lowland, with the demarcation and opening of streets thirty palms wide. At the foot of the hill, the Forte de São Tiago and the Santa Casa de Misericórdia hospital were built. It was from the establishment of the Santa Casa that Rua da Misericórdia emerged – the first street opened in the lower part of the city.

partimos todos nós; nela passaram os vice-reis, os malandros, os gananciosos, os escravizados, os senhores em redes; nela vicejou a imundície, nela desabotoou a flor da influência jesuítica… Dela brotou a cidade no antigo esplendor do Largo do Paço, dela decorreram, como de um corpo que sangra, os becos humildes e os coalhos de sangue, que são as praças ribeirinhas do mar.

Image description: This is a historic black-and-white photograph of a street in a city. On the left side, we see a building with classical architecture, possibly two stories, with arched windows and balconies. In front, a carriage is parked on the sidewalk. In the center, a man stands with his back turned, looking toward the main building. The latter, with a curved facade, has an open shop on the ground floor with hanging curtains. Above, there is a balcony with metal railings and rounded windows. The sky is clear, and the ground is paved with stones. At the bottom of the image, there is an inscription dated August 7, 1928.

Misericórdia street ran toward the Lapa area on one side, and on the other met Direita street, at Largo do Carmo. And thus the city's urban core was outlined, between Misericórdia and Direita streets, and Largo do Carmo.

Direita Street was a natural extension of Misericórdia Street – basically the same street that was originally called Caminho de Manoel de Brito. The road ran all the way to Prainha (present-day Praça Mauá) and connected the hills of Castelo and São Bento. It was the most important street in the city until the 19th century. Back when the area lay on the waterfront, it was also known as Praia Street.

Image description: This is a painting depicting a lively urban scene, likely of a historic city. The image shows a wide street lined with two-story buildings, predominantly white in color, with red roofs. On the left, there is a building with a balcony and black balustrade. On the right, there is a taller structure with a tower. In the center of the street, several people are walking or gathering in groups. Some are wearing formal attire, while others are dressed more casually. There are also a few handcarts and a two-wheeled cart. In the background, there is a hill with some buildings and an isolated tower. The sky is clear with a few scattered clouds.

Until the 1800s, the city's commercial center, hotels, and first "casas de pasto" (establishments that preceded restaurants) were located on Rua Direita, which, in 1875, was renamed Primeiro de Março in honor of the Brazilian victory in the battle that marked the end of the Paraguayan War: the Battle of Aquidabã.

Image description: This is a painting depicting an urban street, likely in Rio de Janeiro, as mentioned in the caption. The image shows a wide perspective, with historic buildings on either side and a distant bell tower in the background. On the left, there are buildings with classical architecture, while on the right, more modern buildings with balconies and flags are visible. In the center, the path is laid out with tram tracks, and people walk along the sidewalk. At the bottom of the image, there is a signature and a date, but they are not legible.

Largo do Carmo, in turn, was the city's first urban center and was initially called Praia da Piaçaba, changing its name over time: it was Largo do Terreiro da Polé – where the city's Pelourinho once stood; Largo do Carmo; Terreiro do Paço; Largo do Paço, and finally, Praça XV de Novembro, already in the republican period.

Until the 1770s, Largo do Carmo combined the functions of commercial port and main disembarkation point for enslaved Africans. Following the determination of the Marquês do Lavradio (Viceroy from 1769 to 1778), it lost its function as a slave port and took on the status of a “noble” area, becoming the reference point of centrality in the city until the 19th century.

Image description: This is an engraving showing a square with several historic buildings. On the left side, we see colonial-style buildings, while in the center there is a monumental structure with a dome and ornamental details. On the right, there is a church with towers and domes, and in the background, more historic buildings. On the ground, people are sitting or walking, and a handcart is parked. The sky is clear with a few clouds. At the bottom of the image is written "Largo do Paço, Palácio, Capela Imperial e Carmo".

Due to its importance as an urban hub, as the city's administrative structure migrated from the top of the Morro do Castelo to the lowland, it was in Largo do Carmo that the public buildings were built – such as the Palácio dos Governadores, the Casa da Moeda, and the Casa da Câmara e Cadeia.

The city took shape with the streets crossing Rua Direita: Rua do Antônio Nabo (Rua São José), Rua dos Pescadores (Visconde de Inhaúma), and Rua Detrás do Carmo (Rua do Carmo). The first residential houses in the lowlands appeared around the 1630s, and in the transition between the 16th and 17th centuries, the present-day neighborhoods of São Cristóvão, Irajá, and Inhaúma began to be inhabited.

References:

BRASILIANA Fotográfica. Series Avenues and Streets of Brazil XV – Misericórdia, street, square and slope, in Rio de Janeiro, by Cássio Loredano. Available at: https://brasilianafotografica.bn.gov.br/

_______________. "The Vanished Rio de Janeiro" Series XXII – Cadeia Velha, which gave way to the Palácio Tiradentes. Available at: https://brasilianafotografica.bn.gov.br

GERSON, Brasil. História das ruas do Rio. 6th edition. Bem-te-vi produções literárias: Rio de Janeiro, 2013.

GRANDELMAN, Luciana Mendes. Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Rio de Janeiro from the 16th to the 19th centuries. História, Ciências, Saúde Vol. VIII – Sep-Dec 2001