Janeiro - The story of Auguste Glaziou, gardener of Dom Pedro II
From Bordeaux to Rio de Janeiro, life story of a Breton gardener
Today we are going to tell you the story of Auguste François Marie Glaziou, a Breton gone to Rio de Janeiro. And we tell you here, the French have left traces in South America.
From Bordeaux to Rio de Janeiro
Auguste François Marie Glaziou was born on August 30, 1828 in Lannion. His mother was a cook and her father's father. It was surely him who transmitted his passion for the beautiful plants to him. Auguste studied to be an engineer in Paris, and he takes the opportunity to take botany lessons at the Museum of Natural History. A graduate and passionate about botany, Auguste arrived in the 1850s in Bordeaux to follow the courses of Durieu de Maisonneuve. He's the one who will renovate The Bordeaux Public Promenade, and it is there that he will meet his future wife.
Two years later, Auguste is 30 years old and he was invited by the emperor Dom Pedro II to take the head of The management of the imperial house parks and gardens in Rio de Janeiro. Il embarquera au port de Bordeaux direction la capitale brésilienne armé de son savoir-faire et du style botanique du Second Empire français (allées sinueuses, lacs et rochers artifhereels…). Lui et sa femme s’installeront, avec leurs filles, dans le quartier de São Cristovão.
From Rio de Janeiro to Bordeaux
From 1860 to 1862, Auguste Rénove the public walk de la ville et propose d’y ajouter une cascade, une rivière, un lac, une île artifhereelle ainsi que des arbres tropicaux. Du jamais vu à Rio de Janeiro ! Auguste réussit à conquérir les brésiliens et imposera son style dans tous les jardins de la ville jusqu’à ceux de la Quinta da Boa Vista, la résidence impériale. Il travaillera également à São Paulo ainsi que dans les villes d’Espirito Santo et de Goiás. Il profitera de ses voyages au cœur du pays pour herboriser de nouvelles espèces florales avec Antoine Laurent Apollinaire Fée. Certains affirment qu’Auguste s’attribue la collecte de plantes qu’il n’aurait pas collectées lui-même en étant alors le coordinateur d’une équipe d’herboristes.
In 1889, the Emperor of Brazil was overturned, it was the revolution. Auguste returns to France and it is he who will offer, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, A tropical garden with a lake for the Universal Paris Exhibition. Auguste voyage beaucoup en Europe et rencontrera à Cannes Dom Pedro II alors déchu. Ce dernier le convainc de retourner au Brésil pour être The Director of Public Gardens, Arborizations and Forests of Rio de Janeiro Until 1897. It was at this moment that he determined where the site of the future capital was located Brasilia. Once in retirement, Auguste settles down again not far from Bordeaux where he will continue to cultivate tropical plants. Auguste went out in 1906.
The city of Rio de Janeiro is still marked by its passages and its work. She has two herbaries in his name and all the gardens he created in Brazil still exist and are classified.