User:Trajana/sandbox/Itamaraty Historical and Diplomatic Museum

Museu Historico e Diplomatico do Itamaraty

 Itamaraty Historical and Diplomatic Museum

       The Historical and Diplomatic Museum (HDM), located in the Itamaraty Palace of Rio de Janeiro, derives its uniqueness to the fact that the Baron of Rio Branco - patron of Brazilian diplomacy and one of the greatest Brazilian statesmen - lived, worked and died in the premises.

The museum was conceived by José Carlos de Macedo Soares, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1955–1958), and inaugurated in 1957 by Juscelino Kubitschek, President of the Republic.  
	The Itamaraty Palace was the first headquarters of the Republican Government of Brazil (1889–1897) and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1898–1970). It became closely identified with Brazilian diplomacy, to the extent that the foreign service until today is known as "Itamaraty".
	The Baron of Rio Branco, José Maria da Silva Paranhos Júnior (1845–1912), was the only Minister of Foreign Affairs who actually lived in Itamaraty Palace. From 1902 until his death, in 1912, Rio Branco worked and lived in the room which is now open to visitors and, after his death, became the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, until 1970. 
	The Itamaraty manor was one the first buildings placed on Brazil´s National Historic and Artistic Heritage list, in 1938. The building - commissioned by the first Baron of Itamaraty, a coffee and precious stones merchant - was designed by José Maria Jacinto Rebelo, a disciple of French architect Grandjean de Montigny (1776–1850), and completed in 1854, after the death of its commissioner. 
	During the Imperial period, the palace was opened for hosting balls and receptions. In 1870, a grand ball was held in homage to Count d´Eu, to commemorate the end of the Paraguayan War, also known as War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870).   
	A fine example of civil neoclassical architecture, Itamaraty Palace houses a collection of art (sculptures, paintings, drawings), period furniture, silverware and porcelain, carpets and artifacts from a variety of sources. Pieces of interest are a drawing by Baccio Bandinelli (16th century),  paintings and works on paper by artists such as Corot (2), Debret, Guido Reni, Gavarny, Lantara (2) and Felix François G. Ziem and by Portuguese and Brazilian masters - Pedro Américo (4), de Martino, Antonio Parreiras (2), Amoedo (7), Décio Villares, Navarro da Costa (4). 
	 At the back of the Itamaraty Palace, facing a large rectangular pond, is situated the sandstone pavilion built in 1930 to house the historical library, the historical archives and the map collection which are the most valuable of the kind in South America.

Documentation center

The documentation center housed in the Itamaraty Palace complex in Rio de Janeiro comprises the historical library, the historical archive and the historical collection of maps, plans and topographical drawings. The collection of books (over 90.000), maps, charters and globes (31.800 items), photographs, drawings and etchings (18.000 items) is one of the most valuable sources for studying Brazilian diplomatic history. The documentation center is open to Brazilian and foreign researchers and scholars. Initially gathered in 1859 by José Maria da Silva Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco, during his term of office as Imperial Minister for Foreign Affairs, the collection was organized by his son, the Baron of Rio Branco, José Maria da Silva Paranhos Júnior. The Baron of Rio Branco (1845–1912) commissioned the first codified catalogue of the library and the first building for housing the collection.

    Most items in the cartographic collection date from the mid-19th century, when the Baron of Rio Branco, as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1902–1912), was leading the task of demarcating the frontiers of Brazil and solving, through peaceful negotiations, the outstanding border disputes with South American neighbors.

Historical Library

      The Historical Library of Itamaraty in Rio de Janeiro has one of the most valuable collections of its kind in South America, comprising rare works such as incunabula and 16th century editions. Among the most significant are Livro Primeiro do Governo do Brasil (First Book of Brazilian Government) - a manuscript containing 16th and 17th century documents -  Suma de geographia q trata de todos los partidos e provincias del mundo (Geographical Compendium Concerning all the Places and Provinces of the World, 1519, Sevilha, ed. Martin Fernandez Denciso) and Bertii Tabularum Geographicum contractarum livri septem (1616, Petrus Bertius) and original editions of accounts, drawings and engravings by illustrious travellers who explored Brazil in the 19th century - Spix and Martius, Saint-Hilaire, Debret, Rugendas and Maria Graham.  

The collection has about 90.000 volumes and 1.300 periodicals, mainly related to Brazilian history, diplomacy, foreign affairs and international law. The origins of the library date back to 1830, when Antônio Peregrino Maciel Monteiro (1803–1860), Second Baron of Itamaracá, began to collect documents related to foreign relations. José Maria da Silva Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco, initiated the first organization of the collection. His son, José Maria da Silva Paranhos Júnior, Baron of Rio Branco, during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1902–1912), commissioned the construction of a building annex to Itamaraty Palace to house the library, the historical archives and the collection of maps, plans and topographical drawings. In 1905, the Baron of Rio Branco asked Antonio Jansen do Paço - head of the manuscripts section at the National Library - to organize the first codified catalogue of the Historical Library. In 1930, Otávio Mangabeira, Minister of Foreign Affairs, inaugurated a purpose built construction where the library, the archives and the map collection are still housed. The imposing sandstone building - designed by Robert Russell Prentice and Anton Floderer - has a neoclassical façade with Ionian colonnade and a large lecture hall. The first director of the historical library, archives and map collection was Afonso d´Escragnolle Taunay (1930).

       When the Ministry of Foreign Affairs moved to new federal capital,  in 1970, part of the library, as well as the official correspondence dated after 1959, was transferred to Brasília and incorporated (1975) into the Ambassador Antonio Francisco Azeredo da Silveira Library. 

Http://www.biblioteca.itamaraty.gov.br Research tool: https://pergamum.itamaraty.gov.br/biblioteca/index.php

Historical Archive

       The historical archive of Itamaraty was created by Act nº 4.422, in 1942, and belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

At the onset, the first documents were brought to Brazil in 1808 by the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of the Portuguese Crown. Conceived as a repository of information for the diplomatic service, it became one of the most valuable historical archives in the country.

          The collection comprises mainly documents - including manuscripts - from 1575 to 1959. Most documents were elaborated, received or gathered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Items of notable interest include the treaties and other international acts signed by Brazil between 1808 and 1959; documents related to the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870); to the First and the Second World War and to milestones in Brazilian diplomatic history, such as the  "Independent Foreign Policy" (1961–1964). 

The archive also acquired private collections belonging to diplomats and former statesmen such as the Baron of Rio Branco, Francisco Varnhagen and Joaquim Nabuco.

Maps Collection (Mapoteca)

       The historical maps collection of Itamaraty in Rio de Janeiro is the most important in Latin America. It comprises over 30,000 items (maps, nautical and hydrographic charts, atlases, globes) of Western cartography from the 16th to the 20th century and showcases the main Brazilian cartography schools.  Among the highlights are two nautical charts (1519) by Portuguese cartographer Lopo Homem and the first atlas of Brazil (1574), drawn by Luiz Teixeira.  

The collection includes manuscript maps of Portuguese cartographers of the 16th and 17th centuries, maps of Italian cartographers of the 16th century, Dutch cartography of the 17th century and French maps of the 18th century. There are also cartographical registers made by missions for demarcation of boundaries between the domains of the Portuguese and the Spanish Crowns in South America and between Brazil and the neighboring countries. The collection started to be gathered in 1831-1835, when the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs acquired the first maps. After the proclamation of the independence of Brazil (1822), the delimitation of the boundaries of the country was a priority in the international agenda of the Brazilian Empire (1822–1898). During the first period of the Republic, the Baron of Rio Branco settled the main outstanding territorial disputes. Rio Branco made ample use of maps and other cartographical documents, acquired or copied from European archives. The Itamaraty collection has manuscript maps drawn and annotated by him. The collection also includes cartographical material used by Joaquim Nabuco in the border dispute with what was then known as British Guiana. In addition to the cartography, there are 18,000 iconographic items (drawings, etchings, photographs). The most accomplished Brazilian photographers the 19th century and early 20th century are represented in the collection - Revert Henrique Klumb, Alberto Henschel, Marc Ferrez, Insley Pacheco, Guilherme Gaensley and Augusto César Malta Campos. Catalogues raisoné of the collection were published in the 1960´s under the coordination of geographer Ms. Isa Adonias (1919–1968), who headed the Mapoteca.

References

{{ Palácio Itamaraty - Museu Histórico e Diplomático. Rio de Janeiro, Ministério das Relações Exteriores, 2007. BARROSO, Gustavo: História do Palácio Itamaraty. Rio de Janeiro, Ministério das Relações Exteriores, 2nd edition, 1968. CONDURU, Guilherme Frazão: O Museu Histórico e Diplomático do Itamaraty - história e revitalização. Brasília, FUNAG, 2013. ISBN 978-85-7631-433-2 Palácio Itamaraty Brasília: Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Banco Safra, 1993. CDD-725.120981

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External links

• www.itamaraty.gov.br