Overview

The oldest museum in the city is an architectural landmark in Independence Park. It was opened in 1890 as a monument to the country's independence and transformed into a museum five years later. Its huge collection dates from the mid-19th to the early 20th Centuries and depicts the historical and social characteristics of that period. Outside the museum are landscaped gardens modeled after those of the Palace of Versailles in France. Also outside is the Monument to Independence and the Casa do Grito e Capela Imperial.