Bishop’s House, Historical house in Rio Comprido, Brazil

The Bishop's House is a colonial-era mansion in Rio Comprido with distinctive period features. The upper level displays seven windows with balconies, while three central open arches below are adorned with ornamental stone frames.

The land belonged to the Jesuits and was donated to monks by Estácio de Sá in 1565. The mansion was built in the early 18th century by engineer José Fernando Pinto Alpoim. In 1765 Francisco Xavier de Carvalho bought it and gave it to Bishop D. Frei Antônio do Desterro, who turned it into a seminary in 1873. Renamed Seminário São José in 1891, it operated until the 1980s, when the Roberto Marinho Foundation acquired it.

The name Casa do Bispo recalls its role as residence of the bishops of Rio de Janeiro, to whom Francisco Xavier de Carvalho donated the property in 1765. From 1891 it was known as Seminário São José, a name it kept until the 1980s. Since 2002 the Roberto Marinho Foundation has based itself here, and part of the building houses studios of Canal Futura.

The building is now the headquarters of the Fundação Roberto Marinho, which moved in in 2002 and restored much of the mansion after years of abandonment. Access to the upper floor is by a two-flight staircase; the ground floor has an arcade and the central courtyard is surrounded by Tuscan columns. Some of the Canal Futura studios operate here, so parts of the house may be closed to visitors.

The building structure shows variations in pilaster base heights and extended stone frames near the cornice. These irregularities suggest the original design was modified multiple times during construction.