Igarassu (or Igaraçu) is a city in the

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 ...

ian state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the ...

. It is the second oldest city of the country and is situated on the north coast of the metropolitan region of

Recife That it may shine on all (Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South Am ...

, approximately . It stands as one of the earliest

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an settlements in Brazil and is the site of the oldest church in the country, the

Church of Saints Cosme and Damião Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, built in 1535. Igarassu is home to numerous colonial-period historic structures. The historic center of the city was designated a national monument by the

National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register and ...

(IPHAN) in 1972.

History

Igarassu was inhabited by Caetés Indians before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century. Its genesis as a town came with the arrival in the area of

Duarte Coelho Pereira Duarte Coelho Pereira (c. 1485 – c. 1553) was a nobleman, military leader, and colonial administrator in the Portuguese colony of Brazil. He was the first Donatario (Lord Proprietor) of the captaincy of Pernambuco and founder of Olinda. Biogr ...

in 1535. Coelho's arrival marked the beginning of the Portuguese settlement of Brazil. The town itself was established in 1537 as the village of Igarassu, which means “Great Canoe” in Tupi-Guaraní. It was one of the first European settlements of the Hereditary Captaincy (a Portuguese administrative division) of

. Shortly after Coelho's arrival he ordered a rock landmark erected to mark the border between Pernambuco and Itamaracá; this still stands today. Igarassu was destroyed at the end of the Dutch occupation of Brazil in the mid-17th century. Architectural materials from the ruins of Igarassu were used to build the town of

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state capital. It has a population of 393,115 people, covers ...

. Igarassu grew from the 16th century as a result of the

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

trade; the town served as a point of transport between the sugar mills on the interior of Pernambuco and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

ports. Igarassu was the site of the brief liberal republican Praieira revolt in 1848, in which the troops of Colonel Manuel Pereira de Morais were installed in the Convent of Saint Antônio. Today the Pinacoteca Museum stands in its place. One of the military officers who put down the revolt was

Deodoro da Fonseca Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca (; 5 August 1827 – 23 August 1892) was a Brazilian politician and military officer who served as the first president of Brazil. He was born in Alagoas in a military family, followed a military career, and became a n ...

, later briefly the first president of the Brazilian republic.

Geography

* Boundaries – Goiana and Itaquitinga (N);

Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its bea ...

and

Abreu e Lima Abreu e Lima is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. It is located in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, also known as Greater Recife. Abreu e Lima covers , and has a population of 100,346 with a population density of 780 inhabita ...

(S);

Tracunhaém Tracunhaém is a city located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Located at 63 km from Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated ( IBGE 2020) population of 13,813 inhabitants. Geography * State - Pernambuco * Region - Z ...

and Araçoiaba (W) ; Itamaraca, Itapissuma and the

Atlantic ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

(E) * Hydrography – Goiana and Igarassu Rivers * Vegetation –

Mata atlântica The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and the ...

, Capoeirinha,

coconut tree The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

plantation and

Mangal Mangal Rajgan (or Manghal, Mangla) is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name *Mangal (singer), Afghan singer *Mangal Bagh (born 1973), Pakistani militant leader *Mangal Dhillon, Indian actor ...

* Clima – Hot tropical and humid * Annual average temperature – 25.2 °C * Main roads –

BR-101 The BR-101 (also called ''Translitorânea'' (transcoastal), officially named ''Rodovia Governador Mário Covas''.Recife That it may shine on all (Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South Am ...

–

Beaches

;Gavôa beach Suitable for water sports, has no deep water and is located east of the city center. ;Coroa do Avião Islet beach A

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. ...

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

in the middle of the

Jaguaribe River The Jaguaribe River is a highly seasonal river in Ceará state of northeastern Brazil. Two large dams were constructed across the Jaguaribe, the Orós Dam, completed in 1960, and the Castanhão Dam, completed in 2003. The Castanhão Dam flooded t ...

delta, which can only be reached by boat or

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels ...

from Itamaracá or Gavoa beach. Its name means "Airplane crown". The

has many luxurious summer houses. ;Mangue Seco beach Also known as "Captain's beach", Mangue Seco is about 1,500m long, and at low tide the waves retreat some 500m. Its name means "dry mangal".

Economy

The main economic activities in Igarassu are based in general industry, commerce and primary sector activities( sugar cane plantation and cattle). Tourism is also an important role due to its historical town center, beaches and the proximity with Itamaraca and

beaches.

Economic Indicators

Economy by Sector 2006

Health Indicators

PE State site - City by city profile
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Historic structures

The historic center of Cachoeira was designated a national monument by the

(IPHAN) in 1972. Five religious structures are also designated as national monuments of Brazil. *

(''Igreja Matriz de São Cosme e São Damião''), 1535 * Church and Convent of Saint Antony (''Convento e Igreja de Santo Antônio''), 1558 * Chapel of Saint Sebastian (''Capela de São Sebastião''), 1735 * Retreat of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Church of Our Lady of the Conception (''Igreja do Sagrado Coração de Jesus''), 1742 * Chapel of Our Lady of Deliverance (''Capela de Nossa Senhora do Livramento''), 1774

Notable people

Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased ...

(Halesson Tiago Barbosa Honorato), professional footballer

Footnotes

:A.The name of the municipality was written ''Igaraçu''; it was changed to Igarassu in accordance with Brazilian reforms of the orthography of the Portuguese language.