Exhibition of the centenary of the opening of the Ports of Brazil

The national commemorative Exhibition of the centenary of the opening of the Ports of Brazil, also known as Brazilian National Exposition of 1908 or the National Exposition of Brazil at Rio de Janeiro, marked a hundred years since the opening of the Brazilian ports acelebrated Brazil's trade and development. It opened in Urca, Rio de Janeiro on 11 August, stayed open for 3 months and received over 1 million visitors.

Location
The 41 person executive committee considered several locations in Rio de Janeiro, before selecting a 182,000 m2 site between Praia da Saudade and Praia Vermelha in Urca.

Opening
The fair was opened (a month later than planned) by president Afonso Pena. The main entrance was through a hundred foot high illuminated gateway designed by René Barba. On arrival, the president was escorted from the Catete Palace to the opening gate by lancers from the 9th Cavalry Regiment, and then escorted by the exhibition's commissioners to the central palace while canons were fired and the national anthem was played.

Pavilions
There were pavilions from Brazilian states of Bahia, São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District of Brazil, along with a Portugal pavilion and ones for industry, Post and Telegraph, the Fire Department, a theater and a music pavilion.

Bahia state pavilion
The Bahia pavilion, which occupied 54,359 square feet, was designed by Italian architect Rafael Rebecchi. Its displays included artwork by José Rodrigues Nunes, Bento Capinam, Macario, and Victor Meirelles, and its external sculpture was made by Rodolfo Bernardelli.

Minas Gerais state pavilion
The Minas Gerais pavilion was also designed by Rafael Rebecchi. It had interior murals by Crispim do Amaral including a series personifying agriculture, mineralogy, manufactures and the liberal arts. Exhibits included aspects of gold and diamond mining including a small quartz crushing machine and gold-washing machinery with washers and miners demonstrating the processes involved.

São Paulo state pavilion
The São Paulo state pavilion was designed by architect Ramos de Azevedo. Its commissioners were Carlos Botelho and Antonio Barros Barreto, and it covered about twenty thousand square feet.

Portugal pavilion
The Portugal pavilion building was provided by Brazil, designed by Francisco Isidro Monteiro, was inspired by the southern façade of the Jerónimos Monastery.

Industry pavilion
A military college on the site was converted to the industry pavilion for the expo (and afterwards was used by the 3rd Infantry Regiment).

States pavilion
This permanent building built for the exhibition, and is now the Earth Sciences Museum.

Bangu textiles factory building
The Bangu textiles factory (Fábrica de Tecidos Bangu) displayed its own woven materials.

Music pavilion
The music pavilion was designed by Jorge Lossio, decorated by Benedito Calixto and intended to have an Egyptian appearance.

Other contents
There was a skating rink, a Botanical Garden, fountains, gardens and a small railroad for the public.

Botanic garden
The botanic garden was stocked by the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden and contained Brazilian flora, including palms, orchids and Amazon parasites, the Victoria Regia, Laelias, Sophonites, Epidendrums and hundreds of roses. It included a conservatory, lay between the Bahia and Santa Catharina pavilions and received a thousand visitors a day.