Niterói, 19th century: An analysis of its historical cartography

Abstract

This article intends to analyze the process of formation of the city of Niterói (RJ) through the study of its cartography and historical iconography, with emphasis in the nineteenth century, relating them to the events experienced by the city and using as theoretical reference the concepts proposed by the French morphologist Philippe Panerai. This way, analyzing the maps, it seeks to identify concepts such as lines and growth centers, barriers, and limits, which structured the current form of the city, to understand its occupation process, and its similarities with what occurred in the city of Rio de Janeiro. For this, it used the vast iconographic and cartographic collection of the city, carried out largely by the proximity of Niterói to Rio de Janeiro and by the prominent position it acquired over a long time, being the capital of the province (1835-1889) and capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro (1889-1975). Thus, through the study of urban evolution portrayed in cartography and its comparison with the current tissue, it is clearly perceived a linear growth from the central region towards the valleys permeated by mountains and the sea, being this occupation planned during the nineteenth century.

Keywords: Niterói, urban morphology, Panerai, historical cartography.