Galeria Prestes Maia, Art gallery in Vale do Anhangabaú, Brazil.
Galeria Prestes Maia is an art gallery spanning three floors within the Anhangabaú Valley, covering approximately 6,000 square meters of space. The building holds multiple exhibition areas and features an underground passage connecting two different parts of the city.
The building opened in 1940 under Mayor Francisco Prestes Maia as part of urban modernization efforts. The underground passage that connects through it later received public escalators, introducing a first-of-its-kind infrastructure feature to the city.
The gallery's name honours Francisco Prestes Maia, the mayor who opened it in 1940. Its Salão Almeida Júnior hosted the Salão Paulista de Belas Artes at the inauguration, with Anita Malfatti among the participating artists. A 1720 Neapolitan nativity scene donated by Ciccillo Matarazzo was displayed here for the first time in São Paulo.
The gallery links Patriarca Square to Anhangabaú Valley, with a lower exit beneath the Viaduto do Chá. A 2002 marquee by Paulo Mendes da Rocha covers the upper entrance, where a bus terminal once stood. A 2019 project foresees an elevator on the Viaduto do Chá sidewalk, next to the newsstand near Líbero Badaró Street.
Inside the gallery is an 18th century nativity scene from Naples that originally came from a religious art collection. This rare piece displays traditional Italian craftsmanship and is carefully preserved within the building.
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