Soriano () is a department of

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Its capital is Mercedes. It is located on the west of the country, south of Río Negro Department, north of

Colonia Department Colonia () is a department of southwestern Uruguay. Its capital is Colonia del Sacramento, the country's second oldest city. Weather Colonia has an annual average temperature of 20.4 °C (68.7 °F). In winter it has an average temperat ...

and west of Flores Department. Its western border is the

Río Uruguay The Uruguay River ( es, Río Uruguay, ; pt, Rio Uruguai, ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La ...

, separating it from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

History

In 1624, a Franciscan Mission established a reduction for the indigenous tribes of the area named Santo Domingo Soriano. In spite of interruptions in its existence, it is considered the earliest populated centre of the actual Uruguay. Eventually, in its place

Villa Soriano Villa Soriano is a town in the Soriano Department of Uruguay. Historically, it was also known as Santo Domingo de Soriano. It had acquired the status of "Villa" (town) before the Independence of Uruguay. Location It is located on the northwest en ...

was founded. The first division of Uruguay in departments happened on 27 January 1816. At the time, eight departments were formed, with Soriano being one of them. When the first constitution was signed in 1830, Soriano Department was one of the nine original departments of the Republic.

Population and demographics

As of the census of 2011, Soriano Department had a population of 82,592 (40.853 male and 41.742 female) and 32,075 households. Demographic data for Soriano Department in 2010: *Population growth rate: 0.558% *Birth rate: 16.60 births/1,000 people *Death rate: 9.41 deaths/1,000 people *Average age: 31.7 (30.8 male, 32.6 female) *Life expectancy at birth: **Total population: 76.32 years **Male: 73.47 years **Female: 79.26 years *Average per household income: 25,198 pesos/month *Urban per capita income: 9,648 pesos/month ''2010 Data Source:''

Map of the department

Noted locality

* Agraciada Beach, a historically important location in

's past, associated with the

Thirty-Three Orientals The ''Treinta y Tres Orientales'' (English: Thirty-Three Orientals or Thirty-Three Easterners) was a militant revolutionary group led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja and Manuel Oribe against the Empire of Brazil. Their actions culminated in the foun ...

Noted local people

* Juan Idiarte Borda, from Soriano, was President of Uruguay from 1894 to 1897 * Tomás Gomensoro Albín, from Soriano, was President of Uruguay (interim) from 1872 to 1873 * Jesús Posse, rower * Santiago Ostolaza, from Dolores, football player

References

External links

Official site of SorianoSoriano Turismo (Ministry of Tourism and Sports)

www.todosoriano.com.uyINE map of Soriano DepartmentNuestra Terra, Colección Los Departamentos, Vol.7 "Soriano"
{{Authority control Departments of Uruguay States and territories established in 1816