Itaguaçu is a

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

located in the

Brazilian state The federative units of Brazil () are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation, and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Federative Repu ...

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

. Its population was 14,023 (2020) and its area is . Itaguaçu has a population density of 26.6 per square kilometer. Itaguaçu has three districts: Itaimbé, Palmeira and Itaçu.

Origin of the name

The name of the municipality is of Tupi origin: ''ita'', meaning "rock", and ''guaçu'', meaning "large".

Geography

Itaguaçu is characterized by several rocky peaks, including Pedra Paulista at , Pico do Caparaó at , Pedra do Barro Preto, the symbol of the municipality, and several others. Several waterfalls dot the town, notably the Cachoeira do Christófari. Itaguaçu borders the municipalities of Baixo Guandu to the northeast,

Colatina Colatina is the second largest city in the north of Espírito Santo, Brazil, 127 km north of the capital Vitória and on the trainline from Vitória to Minas Gerais. It lies on the banks of the Doce River The Doce River ( , "Sweet River ...

to the north,

São Roque do Canaã São Roque do Canaã is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. Its population was 12,510 (2020) and its area is 342 km². The capital of the municipality is located at an altitude of 120 meters above sea level. ...

to the east,

Itarana Itarana is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate ...

to the south,

Laranja da Terra Laranja da Terra is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. Its population was 10,933 (2020) and its area is 458 km2. East Pomeranian, a dialect of Low German, has co-official status in Laranja da Terra. See also ...

to the southeast, and Santa Teresa to the southeast.

History

Itaguaçu was first colonized in the second half of the 14th century by Francisco da Silva Coutinho, Antônio Gonçalves Ferreira, Major José Vieira de Carvalho and José Teodoro de Andrade. The first settlement was on the Santa Joana River, and also called Santa Joana. It was later known as Boa Família and finally as Itaguaçu. A later wave of settlement came with the

Italian immigration to Brazil Italian Brazilians (, ) are Brazilians of full or partial Italy, Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Brazil during the Italian diaspora, or more recent Italian-born people who've settled in Brazil. Italian Brazilians ...

of the late 19th century. Several families from San Cassiano de Treviso in the Italian

province of Treviso The province of Treviso () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso. The province is surrounded by Province of Belluno, Belluno in the north, Province of Vicenza, Vicenza in the west, Pro ...

. They worked for another native of Treviso in Santa Catarina for three years before twelve families moved to Boa Família in 1882.

Noted places

The Church of Matriz Nossa Senhora Medianeira de todas as Graças was built in the seat of the municipality in 1953. It was built in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style with twin

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

s that rise to . The Lutheran Church of Palmeira de Santa Joana (''Templo de Palmeira de Santa Joana''), located in the Palmeira district, was built in 1902. It is built in a style typical of Lutheran churches in the region with one tower and three bells.

References

Municipalities in Espírito Santo {{EspiritoSanto-geo-stub