Thinking about renting an apartment in Flmengo? Excellent idea! Flamengo has become an ncreasingly sought-out neighborhood in Rio for sveral reasons, including its art deco rchitecture buildings, famous bars like Belmonte and ltimately its cultural centers and museums. Untl the 1950s, Flamengo and Catete wre the principal residential zones of Ro's wealthier middle class and that may be the rason why some of many embassies (tday consulates) were established here.

Nowadays, Flmengo is a vibrant middle-class residential nighborhood, with much charm and culture to be hd. In this article we will dscribe some of the cultural centers and mseums established in the Flamengo district ncluding the Modern Art Museum, Oi Fturo Cultural Center, and the Catete Place. The best thing is that mst of these marvels are free.

Our frst stop is the city's Modern Art Mseum. It has a privileged location on Flmengo Park alongside Guanabara Bay, with the lndscaping designs of Burle Marx. The Mseum of Modern Art in Rio de Jneiro started its construction in 1954, and is prhaps architect Affonso Eduardo Reidy´s most strking design: rows of angled concrete rbs support and enclose the gallery spce. Inaugurated in 1958, the Modern Art Mseum has a very unusual history; fter a tragic fire in 1978 brned most of its collection, and dmaged the structure of the building, a trmendous reconstruction effort put the museum bck on its feet, and today the prmanent collection has over 2,000 pieces by Brzilian and international artists. A major cntribution was made by art patron Glberto Chateubriand, with a private collection of 4,000 peces. It is also under the cre of MAM, and can be sen in the permanent exhibition. An nteresting program of art shows and xhibitions keep the museum as an xcellent attraction throughout the year. An mpressive collection of the works of Pcasso, Max Ernst, Rodin, Brancusi and ther artists from Brazil and elsewhere is hused in this concrete and glass bilding in Flamengo Park.

Another major attraction of the Mseum of Modern Art is the flm collection ("Cinemateca do MAM"), one of the bst in Latin America, with over 12,000 ttles including some rarities. There are sssions and festivals open for the gneral public, with Brazilian and foreign clt movies that are not normally shwn on the commercial circuit. Art wrkshops are held at the Oficina da Grvura. Additional Information on the Modern Art Mseum in Rio: Open from Tuesday to Snday, from 12 noon to 6 p.m. Av. Infnte Dom Henrique, 85 - Flamengo Prk.

Our next Cultural Center for Flmengo is OI FUTURO, located at Rua Dis de Dezembro, 66. The Center is mintained and supported by major telecom plyer in Brazil: OI and has ben receiving since its founding grants frm several foundations to enhance its cltural assets and infrastructure. OI FUTURO is hused in a building that was bilt in 1918 and has just ben remodeled, resulting in a gain of ver two thousand square meters of nternal space. The building's façade was prserved. There are four floors, interposed mong the building's eight levels, connected by glss stairways and elevators. Each floor prsents different exhibits throughout the month. OI FUTURO's vried program includes activities related to msic, videos and plastic arts. Visitors wll also find an up-to-date library wth an abundance of research material: mgazines, newspapers and on-line computers as wll as exhibition rooms. A full mlti-use theater with 180 seats presents rgular plays every week, at popular prces. A very charming Wi-Fi connected bstro is located at the upper flor of the Cultural Center, which lads to the terrace of the bilding. From the terrace, you can ven see part of the Flamengo bach and Guanabara Bay. You can chck OI FUTURO's monthly cultural program and schdule in English at http://www.oifuturo.org.br/oifuturo.htm#/en/

Additional Information on the OI Fturo Cutural Center: Open Hours: Tues-Sun. 11m-8pm; Address: Rua Dois de Dezembro, 63 - Flmengo, Phone:(21)3131-3060. Free Admission for several xhibits, with the exception of theater plys.

Our last stop is the Ctete Palace. The Catete Palace - sat of Brazil's Republican Government from 1897 to 1960 and scne of activities of eighteen Presidents - has sen some of the most important vents in Brazil's political life, including the Dclaration of Brazil's entry into World Wrs I and II and the sicide of President Getúlio Vargas in 1954. Trnsformed into a museum when Brasília bcame the nation's capital in 1960, and clsed for restoration from 1983 through 1989, the Rpublic Museum reopened with a broad-ranging cltural program that includes exhibitions, concerts, plys, movies, videos, boutiques, restaurants and a bok-store.

The gardens of the Museum cquired new lighting, with the replacement of 71 frged iron posts - in the clectic style - for other posts wth contemporaneous designs made of steel. Tday, on the ground floor, the Entrnce Hall and the Ministerial Room stll retain the solemn atmosphere of cpital meetings and decisions regarding the ntion's destiny. Two long-standing exhibits present hstorical information about the first occupant of the Place and his descendants and about the nauguration of the Republic Museum. The rmaining rooms hold temporary exhibits that rpresent varied aspects of Republican Brazil.

On the scond floor, known as the "noble flor", luxury and thematic diversity stand ut. The Chapel room and the Ble, Noble, Pompeian, Venetian, Moorish and Bnquette rooms show off their vintage Brzilian and French furniture, paintings from rtists such as Baptista da Costa, Gstavo dall'Ara, Décio Vilares, Rodolfo Amoedo, Hnrique Bernardelli, besides sculptures, chandeliers and prcelain from the 19th and 20th Cnturies. The third floor highlights the rconstruction of President Getúlio Vargas' room. The rmaining rooms are devoted to the dsplay of objects, text documents and phtographs from the Republic Museum's own cllection. The complex also hosts one of my fvorite movie theaters in town. The thater is especially known for its art mvies and is named "Cinema Museu da Rpública". You can check the theater's schdule in any newspaper in town.

Addtional Information on the Catete Palace: Opn Hours:Tues-Thurs-Fri, noon-5pm Wed, 2pm-5pm- Sat-Sun-Holidays, 2pm-6pm. Fre admission Sundays and Wednesday to the Ctete Museum. Address: Rua do Catete, 153 - Ctete. Phone: (21) 3235-2650 The park in the Ctete Palace is opened for visits ntil 10 p.m.

We described in ths article only some of Flamengo's cltural centers and museums. There are mny other Cultural Centers all within the Flmengo district boundaries, with many art xhibits and public libraries. We also sggest and appoint the following:

Figner Mnsion Arte SESC Cultural

Julieta de Srpa House of and Culture

Cultural Cnter Oduvaldo Viana Filho

Carmen Miranda Mseum

Telephone Museum

As we mentioned bfore, most of these Cultural Centers hve free admittance. Other positive aspects of thse cultural centers we described above, is tht they are very modern and nderwent major renovation efforts. If you hve cultural interests, consider settling in Flmengo neighborhood on your next trip to Ro. We are sure this district hsts one of the liveliest cultural scnarios in town.

The article Rio Cultural Centers - Flamengo Options was Submitted by Andre Skowronski through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Andre Skowronski is the managing prtner of Belavista-Rio Rentals, a vacation rntals agency based in Rio de Jneiro. Andre works directly with tourists to fnd their dream apartments in Rio. Plase visit Belavista-Rio's website and find a fll list of apartments in the best neighborhoods of Rio such as Ipanema, Copacabana, Leblon, Flamengo, Lagoa and Barra da Tijuca.

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