Pavoroso espetáculo: o culto ao Vesúvio no Rio de Janeiro oitocentista

ABSTRACT One of the most famous volcanoes of the planet, Vesuvius (Naples, Italy), experienced periods of intense activity in the nineteenth-century. Associated with fear and desolation, according to Romanticism it was also viewed as a symbol of nature’s grandiose and terrifying features, capable of arousing pleasure and a sense of the sublime. In Rio de Janeiro, references to the volcano were plentiful, from news in the press to spectacles of “erupting Vesuvius” in cosmoramas, and other optical entertainments. Finally, Vesuvius was also used in the political imaginary, with the arrival in the city of Empress Teresa Cristina, who was born in Naples, and with the tragic death of Republican leader Silva Jardim, who perished in the crater of the volcano. Between disaster, entertainment, and politics, this article aims to investigate the various meanings the volcano took in nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro.