View of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, from the Heights of the Emperor, near Petropolis, 1868. Petr?polis ("City of Peter"), also known as The Imperial City, is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast Region of Brazil. The city was named for Pedro II, the last Emperor of Brazil. It was the summer residence of the Brazilian Emperors and aristocrats in the 19th century, and was the official capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro during the First Brazilian Republic, between 1894 and 1902. From "Illustrated London News", 1868.