Rio de Janeiro Cathedral 3.96

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian better known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro or as the Cathedral of St. Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro. The cathedral is the See of the Metropolitan Archbishops of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The church is dedicated to Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of Rio de Janeiro.ArchitectureThe cathedral was designed by Edgar Fonseca in a modern style based on Mayan architectural style of pyramids. The current Cathedral was built between 1964 and 1979 and replaced as seat of the Archdiocese a series of churches that had served as cathedrals since 1676, the most recent and notable of those being the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel of the Ancient See, now known as the Old Cathedral, built in the 18th century, and that had been declared Rio's cathedral in the early 19th century.The New Cathedral, as it is sometimes called, is located in the center of the city. Conical in form and with a 96m internal diameter — 106 metres of external diameter — and an overall height of 75m. Inside, the area measures 8,000 square meters and sufficient 5,000 seats(; it has a standing-room capacity of 20,000 people).