Arco do Teles

Arco do Teles is located in Praça XV de Novembro, in the city center of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Architectural landmark in the history of the city, is what remains of the former residence of the family Telles de Menezes, it connects the XV Square to the Travessa do Comércio.

History

Travessa do Comércio, Praça 15, Centro do Rio. At the beginning of the 20th century, Travessa was still one of the most important centers of Portuguese immigrants in Rio.
In 1738 the House of Governors (later to become the Imperial Palace) begins to be built under the command of Gomes Freire de Andrade, Count of Bobadela. In 1743 the construction of the new House of Governors is finished and the Largo do Paço region gains a great appreciation. Seeing the growth of the area, the Portuguese judge Antônio Telles Barreto de Menezes (who gave rise to the name of the arch) decides to buy land in the area and build a house, that is, a set of houses, in order to rent to merchants and to the more of Rio de Janeiro.

In the middle of the houses, the Portuguese engineer José Alpoim encountered a problem, the construction of the houses obstructed the passage of the Fish Market (now Commerce Street), it was then that Alpoim decided to create an arch in the middle of one of the buildings, which would become the Senate of the City Hall (equivalent to the Town Hall), currently the arch is at number 34, of Praça XV de Novembro.

Its construction dates back to the 18th century, in order to communicate the old Carmo square (now 15th November) and the Rua da Cruz (present Rua do Ouvidor). At the time of the governors and the viceroys it was frequented by the entire society of Rio de Janeiro, which was attracted by devotion to an image of Our Lady of Pleasures, placed in a niche inside the arch. The name by which it is known owes its origin to Telles de Menezes, owners of buildings on the site. In 1790 a fire that began in a store near Straight Street (current street First of March) was spread and destroyed most of the houses of Telles de Menezes, leaving only the part that today constitutes the Arc of Teles.

After the fire the region became devalued and the then upper class that lived there left and the area became inhabited by people on the fringes of society, such as thieves and prostitutes, an interesting episode that occurred after the fire was the removal of the image of Our Lady of Pleasures by the residents of the neighborhood, who did not accept that the image of the saint was in such a "depraved" environment, the image of the saint was relocated to the Church of St. Anthony of the Poor, where it is today

Only after 1808 the area was once again valued with the arrival of the Portuguese royal family, which was in the Imperial Palace. With the passing of time and the modernization of the city there was an escape from the power axis of the Largo do Paço area, the region was once again less valued.

In the 21st century, the area is well known for its nightlife and "happy hour", as it has several bars, restaurants and parties, as well as being located in the center of the city, thus facilitating access, in the daytime it is known for tourism , thanks to its unique history and architecture today in the center of Rio de Janeiro and by the presence of diverse cultural movements that occur in the region.

Illustrious Residents

There are two Portuguese who lived near the Arco do Teles and deserve special mention.

Barbara Dos Prazeres
Barbara was a Portuguese immigrant who had been born around 1770 and lived in a building near the arch after the fire of 1790, she was a prostitute who after getting old would have been involved with "black magic" and turned a witch in her old age because she could not more clients with prostitution by age, according to popular belief she would have been responsible for the disappearance of some children of the time, who were used in rituals for the rejuvenation of Barbara.

Carmen Miranda
In the so-called house of n ° 13 was the boarding house and residence of Dona Maria, mother of Carmen Miranda, there she and her family lived six years, where her mother was selling food, the hot little ones in Rio de Janeiro, currently where Carmen Morou is a restaurant. [2]

Characteristics

It is a sagging arch, with a wooden lining and masonry posts, which forms a passage under the building number 34 of the current square XV, which connects the street of the Market.

Source: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arco_do_Teles