Front and centre in RIo´s port area, this wharf was built in the beginning of the 18th century in a neglected part of the city centre  to keep the slave trade out of sight of the wealthy residents who lived on the top of nearby Conceição Hill; by the time slavery was abolished, some one million slaves came through this port. Today, dozens of slabs of grey rock form the outline of what used to be the port, which was discovered only in 2011 and quickly declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since then it has attracted quite a few visitors but remained fairly neglected, until it was renovated in the summer and fall of 2023.

Read more in our post The Soul of Rio de Janeiro: Its ´Little Africa´ Neigjbourhoods-

Sarah Brown