Nova Almeida is a neighbourhood (''bairro'' in Portuguese) in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Serra Serra (Latin for "saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil *Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area *Ampar ...

, in the State of Espírito Santo,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The town is located about north of the state capital, Vitória. It has a population of around 266,800.

History

Nova Almeida was founded in 1556 by

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priests who wanted to spread the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global populat ...

amongst native Amerindians. First founded under the name "Reis Magos" (now the name of the river at whose mouth it rests), it was then known as "Aldeia Nova" (taking that name from neighbouring Aldeia Nova, which today is Santa Cruz). It later changed to its current name, Nova Almeida. Around 1760, there were about 3000 Tupiniquim Amerindians living here, forming the bulk of Nova Almeida's population.

Geography

Nova Almeida's area is , and it lies on the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

at sea level. It is now considered part of the

Greater Vitória Greater Vitória (''Região Metropolitana da Grande Vitória'') is a metropolitan area in Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is made up of the following municipalities: Cariacica, Fundão, Guarapari, Serra, Vitória, Vila Velha, and Viana and accord ...

metropolitan area, since it lies within Serra.

Economy

This town has undergone great transformation in the last 30 years or so; from a typical rural area, it has become an international hub for

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

and industry. Today, it has two large-scale

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

s as part of its infrastructure and a number of industrial enterprises. Neighbourhoods in Brazil Populated places established in 1556 1556 establishments in the Portuguese Empire {{EspiritoSanto-geo-stub