High above the city at Morro do Carrapato a beautiful view awaits. From here you can see the region’s beauty. This natural viewpoint is located on the edge of the old União e Indústria highway. It was Brazil’s first macadamized road.
Morro do Carrapato is in a rural area. It sits near the Carrapato farm and the old União e Indústria road. Access is easy via dirt roads and pastures.
Visiting Morro do Carrapato is free. You can walk, take a tour or snap photos. It is perfect for leisure activities.
Now let me tell you about another hill in Rio. It is called Morro do Castelo. This hill had a very different fate. In 1922 it was completely destroyed. The goal was to modernize Rio.
Morro do Castelo was once called Morro do Descanso. This means Restful Hill. It was hard to conquer and colonize. The São Tiago de Misericórdia Fort stood there. It helped defend against invasions. It was the city’s second birthplace.
The destruction of Morro do Castelo created outcasts. Lower-class people lost their homes. They sought housing in tenements and hillside squats. This led to the growth of favelas. Favelas were a solution for the working class.
Benjamin Costallat criticized the destruction. He saw it as erasing the past. Other hills like Morro do Senado met the same fate. It is now Red Cross Square.
Rio’s landscape is full of hills and swamps. These hillsides became frontiers of discrimination. They reflected racial and economic hierarchies.
Rio was founded on Morro Cara de Cão. Later it moved to Morro do Castelo. This was a strategic point for Portuguese rule.
In the 1920s Rio wanted to become modern. They wanted to transform Rio into a Paris of the Tropics. This meant demolishing hills and old buildings.
The government saw favelas as urban problems. They wanted to cleanse the city. This led to the destruction of Morro do Castelo.
The demolition was to make way for a World Expo. The expo was to show Brazil as a modern nation. Photographer Augusto Malta documented the changes. He captured the contradictions of modernization.
Mayor Carlos Sampaio compared Morro do Castelo to a decaying tooth. The city lost historical assets. These included churches and schools.
Today only a small part of Morro do Castelo remains. It is the Ladeira da Misericórdia street. This street was the first road up the hill. The area where the hill stood is still called Castelo. Buses still use Castelo as their destination. So the memory lives on.
While Morro do Castelo was demolished Morro do Carrapato stands firm. It offers beautiful views and a peaceful escape. Remember the story of Rio’s hills as you enjoy the scenery.