Instituto Ricardo Brennand

— The Instituto Ricardo Brennand is a cultural institution in Recife, capital of the northeastern state of Pernambuco (Brazil). This museum, art gallery, library, and large park was created by the late Ricardo Brennand, who just very recently passed away (May 27, 1927 – April 25, 2020) due to complications with COVID-19. The history of the place is simple. It started when Brennand got a pocket knife as a gift. His passion for collecting grew to what the institute is today. It houses one of the largest collections of armory in the world, with 3,000 pieces. The main building is a castle-like structure with a total area of 828,821 square feet (77,000 square meters), and the whole complex sits on 44,000 acres. Among the various collections, you will find paintings, sculptures, and much more dating back from Early Middle Ages to the 20th century and representing artwork from Europe, Asia, Americas, and Africa. You can spend a whole day there and not see everything.