Rio Branco Palace, Government palace in Centro district, Salvador, Brazil

Rio Branco Palace faces Praça Tomé de Sousa in Salvador. The current 1919 building has a pale yellow neoclassical facade with white trim, a ribbed dome with arched openings and a small lantern, and an eagle at each end of the roofline. The central section holds a large arched window above three tall rectangular windows and three dark wooden doors, with statues in niches beside the arch.

Construction began in the mid-16th century under Tomé de Sousa, Brazil's first governor-general, as the seat of Portuguese administration; the early building was of rammed earth and later served as barracks and prison. It housed Dom Pedro II during his 1859 visit to Bahia. Renovated in 1900 under Governor Luís Viana, it was bombed on 10 January 1912 by order of President Hermes da Fonseca, destroying its rare book collection. Rebuilt, it reopened in 1919 under Governor Antônio Muniz Sodré de Aragão and was named after the Baron of Rio Branco.

The Memorial of the Governors displays insignia, swords, letters, and personal items that tell stories about those who led Brazil across different eras. Walking through these rooms, you see how power was exercised and passed down through time.

The palace stands on Praça Tomé de Sousa, beside Salvador's city hall, the municipal chamber and the Elevador Lacerda, in the Historic Center. The Lacerda elevator links the square with the lower city. The building covers 4,500 square metres and houses the Pedro Calmon Foundation and the Memorial of the Governors.

The palace covers 4,500 square metres and is among the oldest palaces in Brazil, with origins in 1549. Its ground floor once held a collection of rare books, destroyed when the building was bombed on 10 January 1912. Look for the eagle figures at each end of the roofline and the statues in niches beside the central arch.