Ilha Fiscal

This guide to Ilha Fiscal in Rio de Janeiro follows engineer Adolfo José del Vecchio, told to build a customs post to weigh and tax ships entering Rio's harbor, who built a neo-Gothic fairy-tale palace instead. It traces the building to its official opening in April 1889 under Emperor Dom Pedro II, and to the lavish ball he threw here for visiting Chilean naval officers that November, with thousands of guests said to have filled the small island. Listen for what staff reportedly found scattered across the floors once the party ended.