Visit the historic center of Rio de Janeiro. Rio's historic center offers an extraordinary mix of styles and eras, and on Praça Quinze, the centuries collide. Behind the imperial palace stands the University tower, built in the middle of a 17th-century convent. Further on, pastel-toned colonial houses, the sobrados, hold their ground against developers as best they can. The historic center is home to most of Rio's historical remains. On Praça Quinze stands the fountain sculpted by Mestre Valentim in 1783. Older still is the São Bento monastery, built in the 17th century by Benedictine monks. The church's interior is a masterpiece of baroque wood sculpture. On Praça Pio X, the Candelária church opens onto the pedestrian district of Quitanda, Carioca, and Ouvidor streets, lined with sobrados, shops, bars, and restaurants. Not far from the center and its countless street vendors, the National Historical Museum, housed in former 18th-century military buildings, traces the city's entire history through a fine collection of furniture, paintings, art, and everyday objects, staged to follow the evolution of domestic life through the centuries.
