Events

Pineapples, parrots, rare orchids, medicinal plants, precious wood, armadillos, coffee, sugar cane: Brazil’s flora and fauna fascinated Europeans from the minute they set eyes on the country in 1500. They depicted what they saw, charted it in maps and studied, exported and processed many of those natural resources in the interest of science and commerce, and their Brazilian peers did too. The Belgian scientists who helped create Rio’s botanical gardens are part of the 400-year story told in this Europalia show.