A modernist capital built from nothing
Brasília was built in the late 1950s in the empty interior, inaugurated in 1960, and remains the most complete modernist city in the world. Lúcio Costa laid it out along two axes, and Oscar Niemeyer designed its monuments. Along the Esplanada dos Ministérios, the National Congress's twin towers and bowls face the Three Powers Square, and the Cathedral is a crown of concrete ribs with stained glass. The Itamaraty Palace floats above a pool. Distances are huge, so plan on taxis.