Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, Botanical garden and cultural institution in Barra de Guaratiba, Brazil.
Sítio Roberto Burle Marx is a botanical garden and cultural institution in Barra de Guaratiba with spaces organized across terraces and landscapes at different levels. The property contains thousands of plant specimens alongside art collections, furniture, and objects that reflect the architect's career and interests.
Roberto Burle Marx bought the estate, then called Sítio Santo Antônio da Bica, with his brother Siegfried in 1949. He lived there from 1973 until his death on 4 June 1994. He donated the property to IPHAN in 1985, the same year it was recognised as Brazilian cultural heritage; full listing followed in 2000. UNESCO inscribed it in 2021.
The site keeps the name of its former owner, Roberto Burle Marx, who lived here from 1973 until his death on 4 June 1994. His ashes and those of his family rest in the garden, and in October 1996 the ashes of singer Renato Russo were scattered here, partly fulfilling his wish for a flowering garden. The house museum holds over 3,000 items, including works by Burle Marx as painter, sculptor and designer.
The site lies in Barra de Guaratiba, in Rio's West Zone, and is reached by road from the city centre. Visits follow guided tours booked in advance; the house-museum and the gardens are seen on foot along paths and stairs across sloping ground. Wear walking shoes and bring water, sun protection and insect repellent for the humid, shaded trails.
The site maintains living specimens of plants that have vanished from their native habitats, particularly species from the Atlantic Forest region. This conservation work makes it an important refuge for rare Brazilian plant species that exist nowhere else.
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