Christ the Redeemer (statue)Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The idea for crecting a large statue atop Corcovado had been around since the mid 1850s, when Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss requested financing from Princess Isabel to build a large religious monument. Princess Isabel did not think much of the idea, which was completely dismissed in 1889, when Brazil became a Republic, with laws mandating the separation of church and state.




The second proposal for a large landmark statue on the mountain was made in 1921 by the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro. The archdiocese organized an event called Semana do Monumento ("Monument Week") to attract donations, which came mostly from Brazilian Catholics. The designs considered for the "Statue of the Christ" included a representation of the Christian cross, a statue of Jesus with a globe in his hands, and a pedestal symbolizing the world.[citation needed] Eventually the statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms was chosen.




Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa was chosen to oversee the construction of the new monument, to be designed by French monumental sculptor Paul Landowski. A group of engineers and technicians studied Landowski's submissions and the decision was made to build the structure out of reinforced concrete instead of steel, more suitable for the cross-shaped statue. Costa and Landowsky decided to make the outer layers of the statue out of Soapstone, because of its malleability and good resistance to extreme weather. The Corcovado Rack Railway proved essential to the building effort, as it was the only way to get the large pieces of the statue to the top of the mountain.[citation needed] The stone for the monument was taken from Limhamn, in Malmö, Sweden.




The monument was inaugurated on October 12, 1931, by president Getúlio Vargas in a large, lavish ceremony. One of the highlights of the ceremony would be the lighting system, which was supposed to be switched on by Italian radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, from his yacht in Naples. Poor weather, however, affected the signal strength and the lighting had to be switched on manually by workers at Corcovado.


Picture during construction

In October 2006, on the occasion of the statue's 75th anniversary, Archbishop of Rio Cardinal Eusebio Oscar Scheid consecrated a chapel (named for the patron saint of Brazil - Nossa Senhora Aparecida) under the statue. This allows Catholics to hold baptisms and weddings there.



ENJOY THE VIRTUAL TOUR HERE
http://www.corcovado.com.br/

THE CHRCH OF REDEEMER

HERE THE SITE MAP
http://maps.google.com/
maps?f=q&hl=en&q=&ie=UTF8&ll=-22.951567,-43.21057&spn=0.003379,0.005032&t=h&om=1


3D Christ Redeemer FROM GOOGLE EARTH
http://www.gearthhacks.com/downloads/map.php?file=9979