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National Congress in Brasília
Photograph: Shutterstock

Take a tour of Brasília, Brazil’s majestic modernist masterpiece

Huw Oliver
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Huw Oliver
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To build an entire capital city from scratch in just four years would be impressive enough. For it to turn out so captivatingly beautiful is next-level genius. This week marks 60 years since Brasília, one of the world’s planned-city pioneers, was inaugurated as Brazil’s capital and administrative centre. Now a Unesco World Heritage Site, its constellation of masterpieces by modernist architects Oscar Niemeyer, João Filgueiras Lima and Icaro de Castro Mello has made it a draw for design nerds the world over.

To celebrate its diamond anniversary, here’s a virtual tour of the city’s most iconic landmarks – including the National Congress, Palace of Justice and Alvorada Palace, the official residence of the country’s president. All dramatic curves and majestic white stone, they present a utopian vision of what the future once looked like.

Museu Nacional da RepúblicaMuseu Nacional da República. Photograph: Antonio Salaverry / Shutterstock.com

Palace of Justice in BrasíliaPalace of Justice. Photograph: Marcelo Moryan / Shutterstock.com

The Cathedral of BrasíliaCathedral of Brasília. Photograph: Shutterstock

Inside the Cathedral of BrasíliaInside the Cathedral of Brasília. Photograph: Nick Photoworld / Shutterstock.com

Alvorada Palace in BrasíliaAlvorada Palace. Photograph: Wagner Santos de Almeida / Shutterstock.com

The National Congress in BrasíliaNational Congress. Photograph: ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com

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