Itu is an historic municipality in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba The Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba ( pt, Região Metropolitana de Sorocaba) is an administrative division of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It was created in 2014, and consists of the following municipalities: * Alambari * Alumínio * Araçar ...

. The population was 175,568 as of 2020, in an area of 640.72 km². The elevation is 583 m. This place name comes from the

Tupi language Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi (also spelled as Tupí) is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the aboriginal Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. It belongs to ...

, meaning ''big waterfall''. Two rivers flow through Itu: Tietê and

Jundiaí Jundiaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in the Southeast Region of Brazil, located north of São Paulo. The population of the city is 423,006 (2020 est.), with an area of 431.21 km². The elevation is 761 m. The GDP of the ...

. Itu has five hospitals, eleven bank agencies and one shopping center, the Plaza Shopping Itu. Itu was founded in 1610 by '' bandeirante'' Domingos Fernandes. It became a parish in 1653. In 1657, it was elevated to a town and municipality. It became a part of

in 1822. It became a city in 1843.

Geography

Its climate is subtropical, temperatures varies from 16° and 22°. The summer is warm and dry, and the winters are moderately cold and dry. It is located between the crystalline plateau and sedimentary areas.

Population history

Demographics

According to the 2000

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental informat ...

Census, the population was 136,366, of which 123,942 are urban and 11,424 are rural. The average life expectancy was 71.53 years. The literacy rate was at 92.53%.

Transportation

The main roads passing through the municipality are: * SP-75 * SP-79 * SP-300 *

SP-308 SP3 may refer to: * sp3 hybrids, a type of orbital hybridisation * Sp3 transcription factor, a protein and the gene which encodes it * Savoia-Pomilio SP.3, a reconnaissance and bomber aircraft built in Italy * , an armed motorboat * 1971 SP3 or 39 ...

SP-312 SP-31 is a state highway in the state of São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, loca ...

Tourism

Itu was the birthplace of nationally-known comedian Simplicio, whose catchphrase was "back home in Itu everything is bigger". This led to the city becoming known as the "capital of large things", with a number of oversized objects being constructed there. The town's "exaggerations" include a 4m tall yellow pay phone called "orelhão", an oversized street light, a giant car tire (which was set on fire) and a mast decorated with a star, claimed to be the world's tallest artificial Christmas tree. With the increase in domestic tourism the infrastructure soon developed to attract foreign visitors as well as international meetings, seminars and congress events. In 1999 and 2003 the

Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement The Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement is a Protestant Christian denomination in the Sabbatarian Adventist movement that formed from a schism in the European Seventh-day Adventist Church during World War I over the position its European church ...

held their international delegation session in Itu bringing people from over 80 countries to the city at each event.

Notable people

Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg (born on in Itu, Brazil) is a Brazilian diplomat and politician. Career Foreign service Sardenberg joined the Brazilian Foreign Service in 1964. He was the Chargé d'affaires of Brazil to the Soviet Union in 1982; an ...

(born 1940) is a Brazilian diplomat, at the United Nations (2003-2007), and politicianCurriculum Vitae
Brazilian Mission to the United Nations, Retrieved on 2009-06-29.

Sister cities - twin towns

Itu is twinned with: Salto,

Images

File:ITU 07 2009 Giant traffic signal 6058.jpg, Giant

traffic signal Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic lights ...

. Itu is known as the capital of "large things" File:Itu 05 2009 Museu da Energia 5864.jpg, Energy Museum File:ITU 07 2009 Giant Phone 6037.jpg, Giant public pay phone. Itu is known as the capital of "large things" File:Itu 400 Anos.jpg, Itu celebrated its 400th birthday in 2010. File:Itu Igreja de Cristo.jpg, Igreja de Cristo (Church of Christ)