Monumental Axis
The Monumental Axis ("Eixo Monumental" in Portuguese) is a central avenue in Brasília's city design.
The avenue begins on the National Congress of Brazil building and is considered part of the DF-002 road. Its first section is known as "Ministries Esplanade" ("Esplanada dos Ministérios"), as it is surrounded by ministries buildings. Many important government buildings, monuments and memorials are located on the Monumental Axis.
A common urban legend persists that the Monumental Axis is the widest road in the world, where "[100 to 160] cars can drive side by side". This is untrue, as the road consists of two avenues with six lanes on either side; a total of twelve lanes. However, the street has been featured in the Guinness Book of Records as having the widest central reservation of a dual carriageway in the world.
On April 21, 2008, a year before they formally broke up, the Mexican pop group RBD performed a free concert to a crowd of 500,000 on the Monumental Axis[1] during Empezar Desde Cero Tour 2008. The show was to celebrate the 48th Anniversary of the founding of Brasilia. It was recorded and released as a DVD titled Live in Brasilia. The crowd in attendance was the largest for which the group had performed.
Major sites on the Monumental Axis
| Photo | Site |
|---|---|
 |
Cathedral of Brasília Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida |
 |
Cultural Complex of the Republic Complexo Cultural da República (National Museum and National Library) |
| South Ministry buildings | |
 |
Itamaraty Palace Ministério das Relações Exteriores (Ministry of External Relations) |
 |
National Congress Congresso Nacional |
| National Garden | |
 |
Supreme Federal Tribunal Supremo Tribunal Federal or STF |
 |
National Memorial |
 |
JK Memorial Memorial JK |
 |
Television Tower Torre de TV de Brasília |
 |
Plaza of the Three Powers Praça dos Três Poderes |
 |
Planalto Palace Palácio do Planalto (Presidential office) |
 |
Justice Palace Palácio da Justiça (Ministry of Justice) |
| North Ministry buildings |
See also
References
Coordinates: 15°47′13″S 47°54′13″W / 15.78694°S 47.90361°W