Seven years after the terrible fire that devastated it, the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has finally reopened its doors to the public, albeit only partially at the moment. Starting last Wednesday, July 2, in fact, the public will be able to visit the free exhibition Entre Gigantes for the next two months, which showcases some symbolic pieces of the collection that survived the 2018 fire, among them the Bendegó meteorite, one of the most famous objects in the collection. The free exhibition was created by National Museum staff and partners in the Museu Nacional Vive project, a technical collaboration between the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ, which is responsible for managing the museum), UNESCO and the Vale Cultural Institute.
The initiative will give the public temporary access to three interior areas of the museum’s headquarters, the Paço de São Cristóvão (St. Christopher’s Palace), which is currently undergoing renovation. During the visits, the public will be able to appreciate the progress made in the restoration of the building; see the Bendegó meteorite, the largest ever found on Brazilian soil; and admire the skeleton of a sperm whale, a recent acquisition of the institute, 15.7 meters long, affixed to the building’s new skylight.
The reopening was also attended by the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, who also visited the renovations of the space, which had been closed since 2018 following a fire. The disaster, which occurred on September 2, 2018, had not claimed any lives, but had devastated the museum’s historic headquarters (the neoclassical building was built between 1808 and 1821), sending 200 years of history up in smoke: in fact, it is estimated that in the catastrophe the museum lost about 90 percent of its collection. A short circuit in the air conditioning system is said to have caused the fire, but it was clear early on that the lack of investment in museum security at the time of the Jair Bolsonaro government was certainly not beneficial in containing the flames.
Reconstruction work on the National Museum, which started in 2021, was carried out in several phases. Italy also helped during the operations. Initially scheduled to reopen in 2026, beyond this week’s partial reopening, the intention of the federal government, under the leadership of the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is to engage state and private partners, secure resources as soon as possible, and complete the work to fully open to the public by 2026, as planned.
Founded in 1818, the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro is Brazil’s oldest scientific institution and one of the country’s main cultural landmarks. The museum housed some 20 million pieces in its collection, including anthropology, archaeology, botany, zoology, and geology collections essential for scientific and educational research: the 10 percent or so that survived was housed in a location near the Paço de São Cristóvão that was not affected by the flames. The goal, then, is to complete the work and reopen the museum to the public by 2026. In addition to preserving Brazil’s cultural and scientific memory, the reconstruction will ensure that future generations will have access to this valuable body of knowledge.
|
|
| Brazil, Rio de Janeiro's National Museum reopens seven years after fire |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
