Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon
Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon is a lagoon in the district of Lagoa in the Zona Sul area of Rio de Janeiro. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing sea water to enter by a canal along the edge of a park locally known as Jardim de Alah.
Islands
- Piraquê Island on the western edge houses the .
- Caiçaras Island on the southern edge houses the Caiçaras Club, where water skiers tested for the 2007 Pan American Games.
History
Although it receives its waters from diverse river tributaries from the surrounding hillsides, among those that stand out is the river Rio dos Macacos, which introduces contaminated water. The water of the lagoon comes from the damming of an opening to the sea caused by successive build-ups of earth. This separates it from the Atlantic Ocean, except for the Canal do Jardim de Alah.Initially inhabited by the Tamoios Indians who dominated the lagoon, such as Piraguá or Sacopenapan. The arrival of the Portuguese colonizer, Dr António Salema, who was at the time also the Governor and Captain General of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, intended to install a sugar mill on the banks of the lagoon. To free himself of the undesirable presence of the native Indians he spread clothes that had been worn by people sick with smallpox along the banks of the lagoon intending to kill the Indians. Such was the sugar cane plantation and the building of the "Engenho d'El-Rey", where today's Centro de Recepção aos Visitantes do Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro operates.
These lands were once acquired by Salema from the town councilor, Amorim Soares, causing the lagoon to be called "Lagoa de Amorim Soares". With his expulsion from the city in 1609 the land was sold to his son-in-law, Sebastião Fagundes Varela, with the consequent name change to "Lagoa do Fagundes". That landowner, by way of acquisition and invasion, increased the size of his landholdings in the region, in such as way that around 1620 he owned all the land from today's neighborhoods of Humaitá to Leblon.
In 1702, his great-granddaughter, Petronilha Fagundes, then 35 years old, married the young Portuguese Cavalry official, Rodrigo de Freitas de Carvalho—then only 18 years old — which lends his name to the lagoon. A widower, Rodrigo de Freitas de Carvalho returned to Portugal in 1717 and died there in 1748.
The region stayed in the hands of the tenants without great fanfare until the beginning of the 19th century. Then, in 1808, the Portuguese Royal Family arrived during the transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil. The Prince Regent appropriated the Engenho da Lagoa to build a powder factory and construct the Real Horto Botânico — today's Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro.
During the 19th century many diverse solutions were thought of for the problem of stagnated water — until, in 1922, the Repartição de Saneamento das Zonas Rurais presented a project to "... clean up and beautify the Capital for the Independence Centennial festivities". That project involved dredging a canal to reconnect the lagoon to the sea, and deepening the land bar. The soil removed to build the canal formed the island of Caiçara, within the lagoon, site of Caiçaras Club.
In a short time, embankments formed on its edges, which gradually reduced its surface area, providing land for the Jockey Club Brasileiro, the Jardim de Alah, and the sport seat of the Clube Naval on the island of Piraquê. The dredged channel is now called the Jardim de Alah Channel. The lagoon today represents one of the principal tourist attractions of the capital of Rio de Janeiro.
It is also known as "The Heart of Rio de Janeiro". The Lagoa neighborhood named after the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. It is an upper middle-class neighborhood and it has one of the largest human development indexes in the country. Part of the lagoon is landfill that occurred in the middle of the 20th century. Many hills, such as Catacumba, Praia do Pinto, and others, occupied the area around the lagoon. For many years they housed more than fifty thousand people. However, because of poor construction quality and safety risks, after more than twenty years on the hillsides the mayor expelled all of the inhabitants and "tore down" the hills, burying a large part of the city. The inhabitants left for the suburbs and started to live in housing. Apartment buildings and parks were built in the place of the hillsides.
Venues
With 2.4 million square meters of surface area, aquatic sports such as rowing or simply biking happen around its reflecting water. It is home to a rowing stadium, a paved biking path of 7.5 kilometers, diverse leisure equipment, and food kiosks that offer regional and international gastronomy items. Some of the most important sports clubs in the city are by the lagoon:- Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
- Jóquei Clube Brasileiro
- na ilha do Piraquê
- Paissandu Atlético Clube
- Caiçaras Club
- Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama
- Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas
- Lagoon Complex Convention Center
Rowing Stadium
The Rowing Stadium of the Lagoon is a sports venue near Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas on the lagoon.The rowing, canoe flatwater and water ski competitions took place there during the 2007 Pan American Games. Spectators were able to watch from the renewed Rowing Stadium and all along the bike lane around the Lake. The rowing and sprint canoeing events of the 2016 Summer Olympics also took place in the Lagoon.