Capital and largest city of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
About Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the 11th-most populous city in the country and the centre of Brazil's fifth-largest metropolitan area, with 4.1 million inhabitants (2022). The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian state.
History
The official date of the foundation of the city of Porto Alegre is 26 March 1772, by Manuel Sepúlveda, when Freguesia de São Francisco do Porto dos Casais was created and changed a year later to Nossa Senhora da Madre de Deus de Porto Alegre. However, the village started in 1752, when 60 Azorean couples were brought over by the Treaty of Madrid to set up Missions at the Northeast Region of Rio Grande do Sul that was handed over to the Portuguese Crown in exchange for the Sacramento Colony located on the margin of the Plata River. Land demarcation took a long time and the Azoreans settled permanently at Porto de Viamão, which was the first name by which Porto Alegre went. …
Geography
The city of Porto Alegre is located at the northern end of the large coastal lagoon, Lagoa dos Patos in southeastern Brazil. The city lies on the east bank of the mouth of the Rio Guaiba, the estuary of which forms the enormous freshwater lagoon, Lagoa dos Patos. Also joining the Guaíba at Porto Alegre are the Jacuí River, the Sinos River, the Gravataí River and the Caí River, all tributaries of Guaíba just before it empties into Lagoa dos Patos. Porto Alegre has a long coastline on the Guaíba Lake, and its topography is punctuated by 40 hills. In the lake, a vast body of water, a maze of islands facing the city forms an archipelago where a unique ecosystem gives shelter to abundant wildlife. The city area concentrates 28% of the native flora of Rio Grande do Sul, with 9,288 species. Among these, there are many trees which are vestiges of the Atlantic Forest. …
Culture
Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art – MARGS With an eclectic style, the building was designed by German architect Theo Wiederspahn. Originally it was the headquarters of the Fiscal Surveillance Agency of the Federal Revenue Office. Nowadays, it hosts the largest public collection of art works in Rio Grande do Sul. Júlio de Castilhos Museum Created in 1903, this is the oldest museum in the state. Its collection comprises thousands of pieces related to the local history, from Indian relics to objects and iconography about the Ragamuffin War and the Paraguayan War, including an important section showing fine sculptures from the Jesuitic Reductions. Joaquim Felizardo Museum This is an important museum with a large collection of archaeological artifacts and photographs of Porto Alegre's old times. …
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