Parque Lage

Parque Lage is linked to the memory of our city. An old sugar mill in the Colonial Brazil era, its land extended to the banks of the lagoon (now Rodrigo de Freitas).

Lover of the arts, Henrique Lage falls in love and marries the Italian lyric singer Gabriela Besanzoni. To please the artist, he orders the construction of a perfect replica of a "Roman palazzo", and reformulates part of the landscaping project.

Two large gates open to Rua Jardim Botânico, No. 414, to the paths surrounded by imperial palm trees that lead to the mansion, designed by Italian architect Mario Vodrel. The main facade has a protruding portico, completely covered in stonework. The mansion, built around a swimming pool, has marble, tiles, and tiles imported from Italy. The decorative paintings in the rooms were signed by Salvador Paylos Sabaté.

The gardens that surround the house are part of the Tijuca National Park. They are organized in a geometric shape and the surrounding area comprises 52 hectares of exuberant forest, with a variety of Atlantic Forest species, on the slopes of the Corcovado Massif and next to the Botanical Garden.

The eclectic character of its architecture allied to the lifestyle of its residents reflected the spirit of a time when the social life of the city took place in halls such as the Palacete dos Lage. From this period there are still some ruins of the old sugar mill in Parque Lage. These values justified the registration of the green area and the surrounding architectural buildings by IPHAN, in 1957, as a landscape, environmental, and cultural heritage site.

Parque Lage captivates the visitors that pass through here. Be it for the cultural effervescence of EAV, or for the possibility of walks in the bucolic atmosphere of its green area, where the lake and the artificial islands, the bridges with rocaille works, the bandstand, and the grotto, built in mortar, imitating rocks and tree trunks, stand out.

You can also walk around inside one of the artificial caves and admire the aquariums embedded in the walls. The 12 tanks - the largest of which has a capacity for 6,000 liters - house several species of fish, prioritizing species from the Brazilian river biomes.

Today, with plenty of fun for all ages, including a playground, trails - that lead to Christ the Redeemer -, fountains, picnic and rest areas, Parque Lage is an invitation to those who want close contact with nature.