Santuário Dom Bosco, CCBB Brasília & Teatro Nacional Guide

Beyond the government palaces of the Esplanada, three architectural and cultural landmarks showcase the spiritual luminosity and artistic vitality of Brasília: the cobalt-blue sanctuary of Dom Bosco in Asa Sul, the lakeside pavilions of CCBB Brasília, and the relief-carved pyramid of the Teatro Nacional.

1. Santuário São João Bosco (Santuário Dom Bosco, 1970)

Located at SEPS 702 Sul (Bloco B), only five minutes south of the TV Tower, the Santuário Dom Bosco was designed by Minas Gerais architect Cláudio Naves and constructed between 1963 and 23 May 1970 to honour Saint John Bosco, co-patron saint of the capital. While its exterior presents a rhythmic square cage of eighty 16-metre-tall pointed Gothic-modernist concrete columns, stepping through the carved bronze doors reveals one of the most unforgettable interiors in Brazil.

• A Starry Sky of Blue Glass: Every tall lancet window between the eighty columns is filled from floor to ceiling with 2,200 square metres of stained glass in twelve graduated shades of blue and rose-violet, created by Belgian-born artist Hubert van Doorninck to evoke a limitless starry sky over the central plateau.
• The Murano Chandelier & Pink Marble Altar: Suspended from the 29-metre coffered ceiling by steel cables hangs a monumental 3.5-metre-tall, 2.5-tonne chandelier assembled from 7,400 pieces of hand-blown Venetian Murano glass designed by architect Alcebiades de Miranda, shining above a single 10-tonne block of pink marble that forms the main altar. Visit between 09:00 and 15:00 on a sunny day for the most intense blue light.

2. Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB Brasília)

Set among wide lawns near the northern arm of Lake Paranoá in the Edifício Tancredo Neves (designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1993 and opened as CCBB on 12 October 2000), CCBB Brasília is regularly ranked among the most visited art museums on earth. Its interconnected white modernist volumes, circular courtyard, and shaded gardens host blockbuster international art exhibitions, a cinema, theatre spaces, and outdoor cafés; check the official CCBB Brasília portal for current exhibitions and free shuttle buses from the central Plano Piloto.

3. Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro (1966)

Just north of the central Rodoviária platform stands the Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro, designed by Niemeyer as a dramatic Aztec-inspired truncated pyramid. Walk along its east and west flanks to admire Athos Bulcão's monumental 1966 relief mural O Sol faz a Festa, composed of thousands of geometric white concrete blocks that cast shifting shadows across the 125-metre facade as the sun moves overhead.