São Bento do Sapucaí is a Brazilian

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 ...

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 Ga ...

state. Once known as a religious and traditional town, the municipality of São Bento do Sapucaí, now with its population reaching 10,000 inhabitants, is known for its mild weather, beautiful landscapes, and great conditions for the practice of many action sports.

History

First settlings in that area were made by Bandeirantes that went up the

Serra da Mantiqueira The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It rises abruptly from the ...

trying to reach the gold mining regions of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

. The town was founded on August 6, 1832, and

Saint Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orient ...

was chosen as the patron saint. The name of the place comes from Saint Benedict in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

) and the river Sapucaí, that crosses town. Around 1850, José Pereira Alves and his wife, Ignez Leite de Toledo donated a large area of land to the town, with the purpose of building a great church in honor of St. Benedict. The town's folk went in a religious procession to retrieve an image of the saint from the nearest

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

(which was almost in Sapucaí-Mirim,

), and then the "Igreja Matriz de São Bento" (St. Benedict's Matrix Church) started to be built by the slaves. Still today, you can find in there paintings of well-known artists that date back to 1853.

Geography

Located 164 km northeast of

, on a mountain chain called

, it has a total area of 251.2 km². The

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

is very mountainous. There are many hills and waterfalls (the highest being Toldi Falls with more than 200 m). The city's average

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

is 886 meters, and the highest peak is a rock compound known as Pedra do Baú with an elevation of . The municipality contains 66% of the Sapucaí Mirim Environmental Protection Area, created in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Bento Do Sapucai Municipalities in São Paulo (state) Populated places established in 1832