The famous and big statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro is made of concrete. In fact, the statue was built as a 13-story building in height, but stronger, to support the weight of the arms and the hands, which are quite heavy and further away from the central axis. Besides, the statue was made to withstand the force of the winds on Corcovado Mountain summit, at 710 meters (2,328 feet) above sea level.
The statue inside is made of several columns of concrete. Among the columns, there are several flights of stairs all the way up to the chest level, which allowed workers to work on the interior side of Christ the Redeemer (and permit them until today to work on the statue restoration that takes place every 10 years).The statue inside is rather unattractive.
Soup-stone mosaic covers the whole outline of the statue. You can see the small mosaic triangles in details if you take a look at the tunic of the statue, especially in the lower part near the base.
The black base, which is wilder than the towering structure, is made of concrete, but covered with black granite. The base alone is 8 meters (26 feet) high. Inside the base (pedestal), there is an altar, where Brazilians and foreigners get married on Saturdays and Sundays afternoons.
Planning to visit the statue in Rio de Janeiro, or simply want to learn more about the most famous Jesus statue in Brazil? Get a copy of Christ the Redeemer Statue – A Comprehensive Guidebook to Visiting the Rio de Janeiro Landmark atop Corcovado Mountain. In the book you can read practical information on how to visit it without hassles as well as interesting curiosities for adults and kids.
Read topics related to the Jesus Christ statue:
- ► Can you go inside the statue?
- ► Christ statue at night
- ► How did the material to build the statue get to the Corcovado summit?
