Up on the hillside (the Santa Teresa hill, in fact) in Rio de Janeiro is the artsy neighborhood of Santa Teresa.

The houses on this hillsides are amazing, rambling villas. In the late 19th/early 20th century this neighborhood was where the wealthy resided. Now, though, many of the residences have fallen into disrepair. A vibe still exists in this unique neighborhood and one could still see how this neighborhood was super nice back in the day. On my tour, I was informed that the location on a hillside was to escape the sickness down below. Apparently, illness ran rampant in Rio so all those who were wealthy enough moved up the hill to avoid being contaminated. The luxuries of the wealthy!

Nowadays, the old crumbling villas are not the only residences up on the hillside. As lower income people moved into Rio, favelas were built on any available land…