Preserved heart of Brazil's first emperor returns for bicentennial celebrations

Nearly two centuries after it was cut from his corpse and preserved in formaldehyde, the heart of Emperor Pedro I, who declared Brazil’s independence from Portugal, has returned for politically charged commemorations of the South American country’s 200th birthday.
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Dom Pedro, a beloved figure in Brazilian and Portuguese history, has been divided between the two countries in death – his heart enshrined in a church in Porto, Portugal, and the rest of his remains in an independence monument in São Paulo, Brazil.

Porto city officials agreed to return the heart on loan, and it arrived in Brazil on Monday for the country’s bicentennial independence celebrations on 7 September.

Dom Pedro left Portugal for Brazil with his father, King Joao VI, as a boy when Napoleon invaded in the early 19th century. Following the return of his father to Portugal, Pedro I, declared Brazil independent from Portuguese rule becoming its first emperor.

Heart of Brazil’s first emperor returns after nearly 200 years for ‘state visit’ ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...

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