Rio de Janeiro - Paço Imperial

On Largo do Paço, opposite Praça 15 de Novembro, is the Paço Imperial (1735), the best preserved public building in old Rio, the seat of the Portuguese Viceroys and the town palace of the Emperor. On the side facing the bay is a doorway of pedra de lioz (a marble-like stone) bearing a coat of arms. The building was designed by the military architect José Fernandes Pinto Alpoim, the leading architect of 18th century Rio. Recently restored, it is now a cultural center.