Christ the Redeemer

    At a height of 130 ft (39.6 meters) and a width of 98 ft (30 meters), Christ the Redeemer (“Cristo Redentor” in Portuguese) is one of the largest Art Deco statues in the world and is Rio de Janeiro’s iconic landmark. The statue is located in the Tijuca Forest National Park, on top of 2,300 ft (700 meters) Corcovado mountain, overlooking Rio and depicting Jesus with its arms stretched (a symbol of peace).

     Though around 1850 Princess Isabel dismissed the first project of building a large statue on the Corcovado mountain the Catholic Circle of Rio didn’t abandon the idea and 70 years later, in 1922, the construction began. The statue was designed by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa and was executed by French sculptor Paul Landowski, using reinforced concrete for the core structure and soapstone for the outer layer. The construction was finished in 1931 at an estimated cost of $250,000 (around $3 million today, considering the inflation).




      Over the years, the statue faced several problems that required restoration work. First, in 2008, it was struck by lighting, the local government being forced to replace some parts of the fingers, head and eyebrows and installing new lightning rods. And in 2010 the statues was vandalized, graffiti being sprayed on the right arm and head. Beside these, the statues needs permanent restoration due to exposure to strong winds and rain.

       How to get to Christ Redeemer: A ride on the Trem de Corcovado takes 20 minutes and costs about $23.