Praça 15 de Novembro, former Largo do Carmo: Iconographic Disputes, from the Independence to Mega-events

The reconstruction and the destruction of certain architectural elements or public spaces was part of the restoration strategy of the Instituto de Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN). This strategy meant to associate the elements’ materiality with an authorized iconography recognized as the representation of the Brazilian culture. “Praça 15” (symbol of the country’s history) possesses what can be considered as an iconic trajectory, since that square was submitted to new interventions for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. This paper intends to present some of those aspects in relation to its image production and consumption, demonstrating how IPHAN has validated its preservation actions by celebrating certain works of art.