Paraty — Decrypt the Cartographer's Gold Conspiracy

Your investigation begins in Praça XV de Novembro, the beating heart of Rio de Janeiro's colonial center. Built in 1763 as Terreiro do Carmo, it was renamed in 1867 to commemorate November 15, 1822, the date of Brazil's independence. On this square of approximately 22,000 m², crowned by the equestrian statue of Dom Pedro I inaugurated in 1867, the Portuguese royal family arrived in 1808, marking the transfer of the court to Brazil. Here you decipher the first puzzles, revealing the secrets of the political negotiations that preceded this key moment in Brazil's World Heritage.

A few steps away, the Paço Imperial awaits you. Built in 1743 as a royal residence, this 7,500 m² building was used by Dom João VI after 1808 and restored in 1985 to host cultural exhibitions. Its neoclassical style and 70 rooms were silent witnesses to the proclamation of independence by Dom Pedro I in 1822. Your exploration then leads you under the Arco do Teles, erected in 1755 by the architect Mestre Valentim. This 6-meter-high arch, connecting two 18th-century colonial buildings, is a symbol of the historic center, leading to the cobblestone alleys of the district where conspiracies took shape.

Continue towards the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Antiga Sé, built between 1770 and 1810. This former cathedral of Rio, in Portuguese Rococo style with its gilded wooden altar, was the site of the baptism of Dom Pedro II in 1825. The clues then direct you to the Mosteiro de São Bento, founded in 1590 by Benedictines. Its main church, completed in 1641, houses an incredibly rich Baroque interior, with 4 tons of gold and an organ from 1710. This site, which saw the burial of Portuguese viceroys, is a crucial step to unlock the codes left by the conspirators.

Your journey in the Brazilian Southeast takes you to the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Candelária, whose construction was initiated in 1775 by Mestre Valentim and completed in 1810. Its central dome, 25 meters high, and frescoes illustrating the life of the Virgin make it a royal parish church since 1810, linked to the colonial aristocracy. Not far, the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB), a neoclassical building from 1906, restored in 1989, reveals crucial information hidden in its archives, making this cultural center one of the most visited in Brazil.

Finally, your investigation concludes at Cais do Valongo, an active wharf from 1811 to 1831, the arrival point for nearly one million enslaved Africans. Paved with Portuguese lioz stone, this UNESCO 2017 site for the memory of slavery, with its archaeological remains discovered in 2011, resonates with the silences of history. This treasure hunt in Rio de Janeiro will have allowed you to retrace the stakes of power, human dramas, and aspirations for independence that marked Brazil in the 19th century, an interactive visit to the history of Rio de Janeiro like no other.