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artist on Instagram: "More than 350,000 books rise toward a stained glass ceiling in one of Rio de Janeiro’s most extraordinary interiors. The Real Gabin…"
More than 350,000 books rise toward a stained glass ceiling in one of Rio de Janeiro’s most extraordinary interiors. The Real Gabinete Português de Leitura or Portuguese Royal Reading Room feels less like an ordinary library and more like a monument built for books.The institution was founded in 1837 by Portuguese immigrants who wanted to preserve and promote Portuguese literature and culture in Brazil. Its spectacular reading room, designed by Portuguese architect Rafael da Silva e Castro, was inaugurated in 1887. The building embraces the Neo Manueline style, drawing inspiration from the ornate Portuguese architecture of the 15th and 16th centuries. Towering wooden shelves, elaborate galleries, carved details and a colorful skylight surround visitors from nearly every direction. Today, the library is known for holding the largest collection of Portuguese works outside Portugal, making its beauty only part of what makes the place remarkable.It is the kind of room that makes reading feel like entering another century.#library #architecture #riodejaneiro #artist
