The city of Rio de Janeiro was chosen as the World Capital of the Book in 2025 an initiative of the United Nations for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO ) who annually recognizes municipalities that promote reading for all social groups and age groups.
This was the first time a Portuguese language capital received the title. In 2024, Strassburg, France, the distinction was. Madrid, Alexandria, Bogota, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires and Athens have already carried the title in the past.
In a press release, UNESCO stated that the Rio de Janeiro Literary Heritage It is of paramount social importance. The agency also highlighted the “clearly defined view and an action plan to promote literature, the sustainability of the publishing market and the reading among young people, taking advantage of digital technologies”.
Audrey Azoulay UNESCO Director-General, stressed that books are essential vehicles to access, transmit and promote education, science, culture and information. “Thanks to the books, we stayed informed, have fun and we are able to better understand our world,” he said in a statement.
The year of Rio’s celebrations as the world capital of the book began at the end of April.
Rio de Janeiro Literary Highlights
The city of Rio de Janeiro is the headquarters of Rio Book Biennial one of the largest fairs in the area in all Latin America. The latest edition of 2023 broke out audiences with over 600,000 visitors and sold about 5.5 million books, according to the organization. In 2025, the event starts on June 13.
Another highlight happened last year, when Rio de Janeiro announced literary routes to present the lives of writers such as Machado de Assis, Lima Barreto, Clarice Lispector and Rachel de Queiroz through an application. The initiative united History, Culture and Technology to highlight authors of the city in audioguias available in the Embraturlab Official Website.
Rio de Janeiro also received from UNESCO the recognition of Creative City of Literature in 2023. According to the agency, the capital uses literature as a tool to address inequalities and improve the quality of life of the population.
The city also keeps historical and cultural places of local and world literature. Among them, the public can know and visit the libraries of the Real Portuguese Reading Office and from Brazilian Academy of Letters .
Get to know 3 historical and literary places in Rio de Janeiro:
National library
THE National library It was founded after the arrival of the Portuguese royal family in Brazil, in 1808, being the oldest Brazilian cultural institution. The site has about 9 million items and houses the largest bibliographic and documentary collection in Latin America.
Therefore, UNESCO considers the institution as one of the world’s leading national libraries. It also provides reading and research salons.
Guided tours take place from Monday to Friday, from 10am to 4pm, with a meeting in the main lobby. The tour is free.
National Library: Rio Branco Avenue, 219 – Centro, Rio de Janeiro – RJ / Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, from 10h to 17h.
Real Portuguese Reading Office
THE Real Portuguese Reading Office built between 1880 and 1887, also has a rich literary collection, with over 350,000 volumes.
Due to the statute of the “Legal Deposit”, the library receives from Portugal a copy of the works published in the country, having the largest number of works by Portuguese authors outside the European country. It is the only institution in the world that still has this privilege.
The site keeps rare copies, such as an edition of “Os Lusíadas”, by Luís de Camões, and a manuscript of “love of perdition”, by Portuguese writer Camilo Castelo Branco.
Beauty is also lacking in the real office: the institution was elected as one of the most beautiful libraries in the world by Time magazine in 2014.
Visitation occurs on working days, from 10am to 5pm, free of charge. It is also possible to know the real cabinet virtually.
Real Portuguese Reading Office: Rua Luís de Camões, 30, downtown, Rio de Janeiro-RJ / Tel.: (21) 2221-3138 / Opening hours: Monday to Friday, from 10am to 5pm.
Brazilian Academy of Letters (GLA)
THE Brazilian Academy of Letters (GLA) inaugurated in July 1897, is home to the “immortals” of literature and national art. Names like Machado de Assis, Graça Aranha, José Veríssimo and Olavo Bilac founded the institution.
ABL has two libraries in downtown Rio de Janeiro. One of them is the Academic Library Lúcio de Mendonça the oldest of the institution, which is within its headquarters, on the 2nd floor of the Petit Trianon Palace. Already the Rodolfo Garcia Library inaugurated in 2005, located in the Austregésilo de Athayde Palace, opened after the headquarters no longer had room to store the entire collection.
At Petit Trianon, guided tours take place on Wednesdays at 14h, except holidays, by appointment by official website. The entrance is frank and valley Check the calendar of tours in advance.
Brazilian Academy of Letters – Petit Trianon: Presidente Wilson Avenue, 203, Centro, Rio de Janeiro-RJ / Tel.: (21) 3974-2500 / Opening hours: guided tours on Wednesdays at 14h.
Literary routes in Rio offer a trip through the life of Machado de Assis
*With information from Victoria Nogueira Rosa, CNN collaborator, and Tamiris Gomes, from CNN
The post elected world capital of the book, Rio has historical libraries; Meet APPEARED FIRST ON CNN BRAZIL V&G.
Source: CNN Brasil
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
