| Running
southeast from Praça Sete, the broad Avenida Afonso Pena bisects the city
and is lined by some of the city’s showcase buildings. The Igreja São
José, midway between Rua Tamoios and Rua Espírito Santo at the top
of a flight of steps, dates back to 1906 and was the first church in the
new capital; its eclectic manueline and gothic style is characteristically
Brazilian, and it is set in an attractive tree-filled garden. Further
south along the avenue between Rua da Bahia and Avenida Álvares Cabral is
the Art Deco-influenced Prefeitura (town hall), built in the 1930s
as an early boast of civic pride, while just a short distance on is the
imposing Palácio da Justiça and the Escola da Música with
its Corinthian columns. |
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| On
the other side of the avenue is one of the very few large-scale areas of
relief from the traffic and noise of downtown: the green and shade of the Parque
Municipal (Tues–Sun 6am–6pm). Beautifully laid out by the French
landscape artist Paul Villon, the park encompasses a boating lake, two
thousand species of tree, shaded walks much patronized by courting
couples, aviaries, a permanent fairground and exercise yards where
Brazilian men make their sweaty sacrifices to the national cult of the
body beautiful. It also contains the main arts complex in the city, the
Palácio das Artes. |