Postcard from Rio de Janeiro
Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, Barra de Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Roberto Burle Marx, mostly known as a landscape architect, was also a painter and a sculptor. Gone in 1994 at 85 years old, he left behind, among other works, the Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, a unique botanical garden located in Rio de Janeiro.
At an hour and a half drive from Copacabana, the site is a gem: a garden composed of 3,500 species of exotic plants from the entire world. In this rich and dense vegetation, a 407-step stairway made of trapezoidal stones placed in quincunx carves the landscape. On this former banana plantation, the artist renovated two buildings which he then turned into his house and his studio, and created a series of stunningly luxuriant monumental “paintings”, rich in colors and textures.
Burle Marx plants like he paints, with solid patches of color: eucalyptus trees display their bright array of colors and gigantic tree roots form abstract designs.
This place is a work of art.
Two visits a day from 9:30am to 1:30pm from Tuesday to Saturday, except holidays.
Closed Sunday and Monday. Reservations are mandatory.
Estrada Roberto Burle Marx
2019 – Barra de Guaratiba,
Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 23020-240
Brazil
Tel: (21) 2410-1412
E-mail: visitas.srbm@iphan.gov.br
