Catetinho

The first  official residence in the middle of the nature

The “Wooden Palace” was the first presidential residence in Brasilia, built in ten days and inaugurated in November 1956, when President Juscelino Kubitscheck issued the first acts destined to the construction of the future Capital.

The name Catetinho is a tribute to the Palace of Catete, in Rio de Janeiro, that sheltered for many years the Brazilian presidents. It is a completely deserted building, with pure modernist lines, with pilots’ on the ground floor and a rectangular upper floor – where there are four suites, two bedrooms, a room for presidential acts and a small bar, all with access from an open circulation, which extends throughout the longitudinal direction of the building. To the rear, a ground floor annex houses the kitchen and maid’s bedroom, as well in wood. It is located next to a fountain fed by four springs of crystalline mineral water, among a dense environment of native vegetation, featuring a unique location and exceptional natural beauty. The spring takes today the name of Tom Jobim since it was in that same location where he composed the samba: Drinking water.

It was listed as a national historical and artistic heritage soon after the construction of Brasilia in 1960.

Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.