A botanical garden in Rio de Janeiro has been recognized as a World Heritage site by UNESCO, the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture. 

The site earned the coveted status in July this year when the organization’s world heritage committee met in the Chinese city of Fuzhou. 

The garden was the home and laboratory of renowned Brazilian landscape artist Roberto Burle Marx. 

The estate, which was donated to the federal government ten years before the artist`s death in 1994, was built from scratch by Burle Marx and a team of gardeners. 

Among them, Elias Moreira, a former rural worker, who at 68, is still in charge of keeping the “Sitio Burle Marx” in pristine condition. He shared his story with CGTN.

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