Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro
Conical modernist landmark with four soaring stained-glass walls that flood the interior with shifting colored light.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the Catedral Metropolitana de Sao Sebastiao in Rio de Janeiro follows architect Edgar de Oliveira da Fonseca, a student of Oscar Niemeyer, who shaped the cathedral like a truncated Mayan pyramid so everyone inside stood equally close to God. It traces the four stained-glass walls and their assigned meanings, and the long span from groundbreaking on Saint Sebastian's day in 1964 through the first mass in 1972 to the dedication in 1979, all under military rule. Listen for how the light shifts as clouds pass outside, and look up at the cross cut into the center of the ceiling.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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