Palácio Mourisco (Moorish Palace - Oswaldo Cruz Institute)

 Who passes by the Avenue Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, it is impossible not to notice the imposing building that stands out in the degraded landscape  of the avenue. It has only seven floors, but it was one of the tallest buildings in Rio. From the balconies of the castle, you can see the Guanabara Bay and the city suburb. Eclectic, the building merges two or more trends in style and decoration, one of the few buildings still existing neo-Moorish in Rio de Janeiro. It has only seven floors, but it was one of the tallest buildings in Rio de Janeiro.


The neo-Moorish style was inspired by the Alhambra Palace in Granada (south of Spain).
The materials used in the construction and finish were imported from Europe and hand labor, consisting of laborers Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, headed by an Austrian.O estilo neo-mourisco inspira-se no Palácio de  Alhambra, de Granada (ao sul da Espanha).

The building was equipped with what was then the most modern, like your elevator - the oldest still in operation in Brazil, a German source machine installed in 1909. In addition to telephony systems and cooling and clock. Electrical equipment operated from a generator, since power lines Light Company arrived only in the 1920s. It was completed in 1918, a year after the death of Oswaldo Cruz, on February 12, 1917. Several restoration works were carried out from 1988 being aa permanent object of preservation.

In 1903, the history and physiognomy Manguinhos began to change.

Accumulating over as director of the institute with the Head of the Federal District Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz hired new scientists, equipped laboratories and initiated the building of the magnificent architectural ensemble.

The Cavalariça

Created in 1900 to produce sera and vaccines against plague that threatened to reach the city, the Sorotherapic Federal Institute was the embryo of today's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Its first director was Baron Pedro Afonso, replacing in 1902 by Oswaldo Cruz, who has headed the technical work of the institution. This building was the place where they were preparing antisera against bubonic plague and diphtheria.

To prepare them, the cientists introduced cultures of microbes of these diseases in horses that were isolated here. Thus, they begin to produce antibodies in the blood of these diseases was then removed from the horse and their cells had separated from the liquid, giving rise to the serum before being used, going through processes of purification and concentration.