Ilha Grande

Ilha Grande (Portuguese: [ˈiʎɐ ˈɡɾɐ̃dʒi] "Big Island") is an island located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. The island, which is part of the municipality of Angra dos Reis, remains largely undeveloped. For almost a century it was closed by the Brazilian government to free movement or settlement because it first housed a leper colony and later a top-security prison (Colônia Penal de Dois Rios, later known as Instituto Penal Cândido Mendes). The Cândido Mendes prison, which housed s…