Qualla: Palácio do Planalto

Palácio do Planalto: Introduction

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Joehawkins, CC BY-SA 4.0. When Brazilians say "Planalto," they do not usually mean the plateau. They mean the building, and through the building they mean the presidency itself - the whole executive branch wrapped up in the name of one structure. The Palácio do Planalto in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil, distinct from the Palácio da Alvorada where the president actually lives. It sits at the Praça dos Três Poderes, the Three Powers Plaza, directly east of the National Congress and across from the Supreme Federal Court. Oscar Niemeyer designed it in 1958 and it was inaugurated on 21 April 1960 - one of the first buildings in a capital city that did not yet exist when construction began.

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Image: Joehawkins | CC BY-SA 4.0

Palácio do Planalto: The Columns

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit {{{1}}}, CC BY 2.0. What everyone remembers about the Planalto is the columns. They flare outward at the top and bottom in shapes that look structural but are really sculptural - the actual load-bearing work is done by internal supports. The flaring columns are decorative, rhythmic, a repeating moti...

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Image: {{{1}}} | CC BY 2.0

Palácio do Planalto: Ten Years Of Work

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ptacruz, CC BY-SA 4.0. Construction began on 10 July 1958, led by the firm Construtora Rabello S.A. While the palace was being built, the Executive Office ran out of a small government residence called Catetinho, perched on the outskirts of what was not yet Brasília. When the Planalto was inaugurated o...

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Image: Ptacruz | CC BY-SA 4.0

Palácio do Planalto: The Reflecting Pool

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ricardo - User: (WT-shared) Rmx at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1991 a reflecting pool was installed in front of the building. It covers 1,635 square meters and holds 1,900 cubic meters of water, 110 centimeters deep. The pool serves two purposes. It doubles the humidity near the palace during the long Brasília dry season - the capital sit...

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Image: Ricardo - User: (WT-shared) Rmx at wts wikivoyage | CC BY-SA 4.0

Palácio do Planalto: 8 January 2023

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit LeRoc, CC BY-SA 2.0. On 8 January 2023 the Planalto was attacked. Supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, protesting the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the week before, broke through police barriers alongside thousands marching from the Army Headquarters toward the Three Powers Plaz...

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Image: LeRoc | CC BY-SA 2.0

Palácio do Planalto: Guarded By Dragoons

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Valter Campanato/ABr, CC BY 3.0 br. The Planalto is protected by two military units that rotate responsibility every six months. The Presidential Guard Battalion shares duty with the 1st Guard Cavalry Regiment, known as the Independence Dragoons - a unit whose lineage traces back to the founding of independent Braz...

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Image: Valter Campanato/ABr | CC BY 3.0 br