A 125-meter long “tribute to the Brazilian people.”
This project consists of 250 steps topping out at 125 meters. Jorge Selarón, a painter and sculptor originally from Chile, arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1983. In 1990, he began renovating the dilapidated steps outside of his home with fragments of blue, green and yellow tiles – the colors of the Brazilian flag. “It is a tribute to the Brazilian people”, he said. Right now the stairs, that functions as a bridge between the neighborhoods Lapa and Santa Teresa, is one of the most visited highlights in the city. Thousands of people pass by it every day.
The steps themselves are covered in over 2000 tiles collected from over 60 countries around the world.
Since their completion in the early 2000s, the steps have got international attention from magazines such as National Geographic and Time, and have become a major tourist attraction.
For years, Selarón often could be found hanging around the steps in his trademark red clothes and hats.