Niterói () 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' ...
in the state of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, in the
southeast region of Brazil. It lies across
Guanabara Bay
Guanabara Bay (, , ) is an oceanic bay in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro (city), Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, a ...
, facing the city of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
and forming part of the
Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. It was the capital of Rio de Janeiro, as marked by its golden
mural crown
A mural crown () is a Crown (headgear), crown or headpiece representing city walls, fortified tower, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the ancient Rome, Romans ...
, from 1834 to 1894 and again from 1903 to 1975. It has an estimated population of 515,317 inhabitants (2020) and an area of , making it the fifth most populous city in the state. It has the highest
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
in the state and the seventh highest among Brazil's municipalities in 2010. Individually, it is the municipality with the second highest average monthly household income per capita in Brazil and appears in 13th place among the municipalities of the country according to social indicators related to education. The city has the nicknames of ''Cidade Sorriso'' (Smile City).
Studies by the
Getulio Vargas Foundation in June 2011 classified Niterói as the richest city of Brazil, with 55.7% of the population included in class A. Considering the classes A and B, Niterói also appears in the first place, with 85.9% of the population in these classes. According to 2010 data from
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil. IBGE performs a decennial national cen ...
, Niterói's nominal gross domestic product was 11.2 billion reais, being the fifth municipality with the highest gross domestic product of the state. The city is the second largest formal employer in the state of Rio de Janeiro, although it occupies the 5th place in terms of the number of inhabitants. The city is one of the main financial, commercial and industrial centers in the state of Rio de Janeiro, being the 12th among the 100 best Brazilian cities to do business.
Niterói was founded on 22 November 1573 by the
Tupi chief
Arariboia
Arariboia (old spelling: Ararigboya; – 1589) was the founder of the city of Niterói, in Brazil.
Son of Temiminó chief Maracajá-guaçu, he was the leader of the Temiminó tribe, which inhabited the territory of the present Espírito San ...
, who later was forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism and was given the Christian name of Martim Afonso, after the Portuguese explorer
Martim Afonso de Sousa
Martim Afonso de Sousa ( – 21 July 1564) was a Portuguese '' fidalgo'', explorer and colonial administrator.
Life
Martim Afonso de Sousa was born in Vila Viçosa, and had been raised in the Duke of Bragança household and was a personal fri ...
, making it the only Brazilian city to have been founded by a non-Christian, non-assimilated
indigenous person.
The municipality contains part of the
Serra da Tiririca State Park
The Serra da Tiririca State Park () is a state park in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It protects an area of rugged terrain on the Atlantic coast with Atlantic Forest vegetation.
Location
The Serra da Tiririca State Park is divided between ...
, created in 1991.
Toponym
"Niterói" is a term of Tupi origin, with "" being its recorded form in the ' (), a dictionary of the
Tupi language
Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi () is a classical Tupian language which was spoken by the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. In the words of Brazilian tupinol ...
compiled at the end of the 16th century. According to , this term would mean "the (bay) all sinuous", through the composition of , a reflexive pronoun, , "sinuous" (a term recorded by
Antonio Ruiz de Montoya in his ), and , a particle that indicates a customary trait. Edelweiss reinforces this hypothesis through the poem ''
De Gestis Mendi de Saa'', which calls Rio de Janeiro a "sinuous port" twice, and he suggests that this designation reveals Tupi influence.
History
France Antarctique
In the year 1555, French navigator
Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon allied himself with the
Tupinambas Indians who dominated the Guanabara Bay and instituted a French colony in the region,
France Antarctique. The region was avoided by the Portuguese because of the hostility of the Tupinamba. The region developed under the command of Villegaignon, who planned to build a city in the region. After a while, Calvinists who had emigrated from France to the colony returned to France, where they accused Villegaignon of prejudice against Protestants and of maladministration. The French navigator had to return to France to explain himself.
Following the absence of the French leader, the Portuguese crown began noticing that the
bay of Rio de Janeiro would make a strategic scale for the Atlantic route of ships from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
to its colonies in Africa and Asia, as well an important advanced bridgehead for the defense of South Brazil. Fortresses were built and an alliance was formed with nearby native
Tupi-Guaraní tribes to defend the settlement against other European invaders. Then, in 1560, the Portuguese leader
Mem de Sá attacked and destroyed the French fort that was located in Guanabara Bay, Coligny Fort, without, however, being able to definitively expel the French from the region.
Estácio de Sá
Estácio de Sá (1520 – 20 February 1567) was a Portuguese soldier and officer. Sá travelled to the colony of Brazil on the orders of the Portuguese crown to wage war on the French colonists commanded by Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon. The ...
, Mem de Sá's nephew, who would continue to command the war, enlisted the help of the head of the Temiminos Indians,
Arariboia
Arariboia (old spelling: Ararigboya; – 1589) was the founder of the city of Niterói, in Brazil.
Son of Temiminó chief Maracajá-guaçu, he was the leader of the Temiminó tribe, which inhabited the territory of the present Espírito San ...
, who accepted the governor's request to help the Portuguese expel the French from the Guanabara Bay, in the hope to regain the mother island.
With the end of the war in 1567, Estácio de Sá invoked Arariboia and the
Temininós Indians to occupy the right side of the entrance to the Guanabara Bay, opposite the city of
São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro founded by Estácio in 1565, as previously requested by Arariboia a tract of land. Thus, the entrance to the bay would be fully protected from intrusion. The place to be occupied by Arariboia was known as "Banda D'Além" (the land beyond), in the eastern side of the bay, from ''River Marui'' to the ''Red Barriers'' between ''Gragoata'' and ''Boa Viagem'' beaches. This area corresponded to what is nowadays the northwestern part of the municipality of Niterói, which includes the central and northern zones of its urban area. There, in the "Land Beyond", Arariboia founded the Town of Saint Lawrence of the Indians (in
Portuguese, ''Vila de São Lourenço dos Índios''), the embryo for the future city of ''Niterói'', a Tupi name that means "Hidden Waters".
Imperial era
The village was visited by the
King of Brazil,
John VI, in 1816, who also decreed its emancipation from
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
on 10 May 1819 and gave the new-created municipality a new name, ''Vila Real da Praia Grande'' (Royal Town of Great Beach).
In 1834, the city of Rio de Janeiro, capital of the newly established
Empire of Brazil
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...
, was detached from the rest of
Rio de Janeiro Province; Vila Real da Praia Grande was then chosen as the new capital of that province, while the city of Rio de Janeiro itself was converted into a ''
neutral municipality'', following the
Ato Adicional. Niterói served the function of capital until the year of 1975 – except for the period between 1894 and 1903 when it was temporarily transferred to the city of
Petrópolis
Petrópolis (), also known as the Imperial City, is a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the city of Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 Brazilian census, Petrópolis mun ...
.
Vila Real da Praia Grande was officially renamed ''Nictheroy'' (
Tupi for "hidden waters") on 6 March 1835. This old spelling persisted until the mid-20th century, when the current spelling–Niterói–was adopted. The capital condition has brought a number of urban developments such as the steam boat, public lighting to whale oil, water supply and new means of transport to connect the city to the interior of the province. Nine years later, the Emperor
D. Pedro II granted the city of Niterói the title of
Imperial City. The appointment was given to the most important cities, giving them some autonomy and regional power.
At the end of the 19th century, around 1885, some tram systems were founded, which allowed the expansion of the city to Icaraí, Ponta d'Areia and
Itaipu districts.
Republican era

In 1890, the Brazilian provinces began being called states and the neutral municipality (Rio de Janeiro city) had its status changed to ''Federal District'' (or simply DF, the Portuguese acronym for ''Distrito Federal'').
The monarchist
navy revolt in 1893 damaged productive activities and forced the transfer of the capital's headquarters to
Petrópolis
Petrópolis (), also known as the Imperial City, is a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the city of Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 Brazilian census, Petrópolis mun ...
. In 1903, Niterói returned to be the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. This brought about a new impulse to modernize the city with the construction of squares, decks, parks, waterway station and sewage network, as well as widening of the streets and main avenues.
A
circus fire in the city killed 323 people on 17 December 1961; the fire was later found to have been deliberately set by disgruntled circus employees. It is one of the worst tragedies in Brazilian history and the most fatal in the annals of world circus show history.
Following the transference of Brazil's capital to
Brasília
Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...
in 1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro became a
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...
named
Guanabara. This state was merged with Rio de Janeiro State in 1975; since then, Niterói lost its condition of the state's capital in favor of the
city of Rio de Janeiro.
On 8 April 2010; the mudslide triggered due to heavy rainfall cost at least 200 lives. At least 11,000 people were forced to flee homes due to further mudslides.
Geography
Niterói has an area of 129,375 square kilometers located between the
Guanabara Bay
Guanabara Bay (, , ) is an oceanic bay in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro (city), Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, a ...
(west), the Atlantic Ocean (south),
Maricá (east) and
São Gonçalo (north).
There are a number of beaches in the area, including Praia de Fora and Praia do Imbuí, with their historical values; Piratininga Beach, Camboinhas Beach, Itaipu Beach and Itacoatiara Beach, the most visited; Praia do Sossego, Praia Adam and Eve and Prainha. It has two saltwater lagoons: Piratininga and Itaipu. The first is linked to the second by means of the Camboatá Canal, opened by the National Department of Sanitation Works in 1946. The Itaipu Lagoon, in turn, connects to the sea through the Itaipu Canal, which was built in 1979.
The relief consists of crystalline terrains, divided into massifs and coastal hills. The massifs predominate in the south and form the mountains of Malheiro, Calaboca and Tiririca, where is the Stone of the Elephant, the highest point of the municipality, 412m high.
The coastal plains are composed of sediments, obviously located near the sea. The most extensive area covers the entire area of Piratininga and Itaipu lagoons.
Climate
Niterói has a
tropical climate
Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of or higher in the coolest month, featuring hot te ...
, specifically a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...
, with warm to hot temperatures year round as well as relatively frequent rainfall.
Politics
In Niterói, executive power is represented by the mayor and cabinet of secretaries, in accordance with the model proposed by the
Federal Constitution. The Organic Law of the Municipality and the current Master Plan, however, prescribe that the public administration should give the population effective tools to exercise participatory democracy. Thus, the city is divided into regional secretariats (although it has already been divided into regional administrations), each headed by a secretary appointed by the mayor.
The legislative power is constituted to the Municipality of Niterói (CMN), composed of 21 elected councilors for mandates of four years (in compliance with the provisions of Article 29 of the Federal Constitution, which governs a minimum and maximum number for municipalities according to with number of inhabitants). It is up to the house to draft and vote fundamental laws to the administration and to the Executive, especially the participative budget (Budgetary Guidelines Law).
The current mayor of Niterói is
Axel Grael of the
Democratic Labour Party, who was elected in 2020 amidst the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in Brazil; he was ex-mayor
Rodrigo Neves
Rodrigo Neves Barreto (born 28 June 1976) is a Brazilian politician affiliated with the Democratic Labour Party (Brazil), Democratic Labour Party (PDT). He was the mayor of Niterói from 2013 to 2020, currently serving as the executive secretary ...
' deputy for the 2012–2016 term and Secretary of Planning during the 2017–2020 term.
Economy
Niteroi is one most important financial and commercial centers in Rio de Janeiro State, like a modern city, with modern buildings and several shopping malls. Its economy is centered on its trading and commerce services, like real-estate corporations,
graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
,
web design
Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code a ...
and publicity.
It also hosts industries of food (especially seafood), clothes, candles, and
marine objects.
The city is located 25 minutes away from
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
's downtown region. Niterói boasts the title of fourth richest city in Rio de Janeiro State, and the third in the
Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area.
The
Niterói Contemporary Art Museum
The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (''Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói'' — MAC) is situated in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is one of the city’s main landmarks. It was completed in 1996.
The MAC-Niterói was ...
, the city's main landmark, was designed by the famous Brazilian
modernist
Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
architect
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...
. The landscape of the central urban area of the city is dominated by the Niterói Tower, a tall cylindrical office building belonging to the Niterói Shopping Mall.
Growth
By the time of its emancipation, the urban area of Niteroi corresponded to its central zone and São Domingos only. The south zone – Icarai, Santa Rosa, Vital Brazil – began to be urbanized in 1841, when the Santa Rosa farm was divided into estates, while Jurujuba evolved from an old fishermen colony. São Francisco and Charitas, sites named after the Catholic Church built in honor to Saint Francis by the Jurujuba cove, remained sparsely populated until about 1940. As for the northern zone of Niteroi, its urbanization began in the late 19th century, when a
tramway was inaugurated, allowing the expansion of the city to north and northeast, as well boosting the urban growth of the neighbouring municipality of São Gonçalo.
The realm of Itaipu – a former vast zone of farming lands and forests east of Niteroi – was annexed to the municipality in 1943. It has lost its countryside traits and its urban population has grown fast since the late 1960s.
In the early 20th century, Niteroi started its industrialization boom.
Demographics
Niteroi is distant from Rio de Janeiro City, to which it is linked by the
Rio–Niterói Bridge
The Rio–Niterói Bridge (in Portuguese: Ponte Rio-Niterói), officially the President Costa e Silva Bridge, is a box girder bridge spanning the Guanabara Bay, connecting the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói in the State of Rio de Janeiro ...
and two ferryboat services. According to the 2010 Brazilian Census, the city has a population of 487,320 people, making it the
fifth most populous city in the state of Rio de Janeiro and the
39th most populous in the country. At the 2010 Census, the population of Niterói grew 9.3% from 2000 to 2010, meaning Niterói had the lowest city population growth in the state of Rio de Janeiro in this period.
The quality of life of the municipality of Niteroi is considered one of the best (third place) among 5,600 other Brazilian municipalities, according to UN indexes (2000 est.).
Religion
In the city of Niterói there are several manifest religious doctrines. According to the 2010 census, of the total population of Niterói, there were 258,391
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
(53%), 97,759
evangelicals
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...
(35%) and 34,484
Spiritists (11%).
According to the division of the Catholic Church in Brazil, Niterói belongs to the Regional Episcopal Council East I of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, and the archiepiscopal seat is in the city of Niterói. The
Archdiocese of Niterói comprises 14 municipalities of the region of the capital and the interior of Rio de Janeiro State, forming in total 73 parishes and 1 quasi-parish divided into 6 vicariates. There is also the Jewish community integrated to the Israeli Federation of Rio de Janeiro, it also has the most different Protestant creeds, as well as the practice of
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, messianism,
Afro-Brazilian religions and others.
Education
Niteroi is the seat of the
Fluminense Federal University, one of the most important research centers in Brazil. Other colleges include ISE La Salle and
Cândido Mendes University.
Catholic schools, mainly
La Salle Institute and São Vicente de Paulo, are the most traditional elementary and high schools of the city. Other important schools are PH, Marília Matoso, Pedro II, Gay Lussac,
Instituto Abel, Colégio Nossa Senhora Das Mercês, the
Salesian High School, ETE – Henrique Lage (a.k.a. Faetec),
Oswaldo Cruz Institute and Escola Canadense de Niterói.
Niterói has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) and best level of literacy in
Rio de Janeiro State.
Transportation
Bus
The urban bus service is the only means of public transportation in the city of Niterói. There are just under fifty active lines, all operated by private companies. Most municipal bus lines have an end point in the center of Niterói (at the João Goulart Bus Terminal), or they pass through the center of Niterói.
Ferry

The sea crossing between Niterói and the city of Rio de Janeiro is made by two routes, both having as destination the
Praça XV Station. The stations, in Niterói, are located in Arariboia Square, in the center and in the
Charitas neighborhood. The crossing between ''Praça Arariboia'' and ''Praça 15 de Novembro'' is done by large boats, with capacity for up to 2,000 passengers, in a journey that lasts about twenty minutes.
Since 2006, the boats have been gradually replaced by large catamarans with a lower capacity (up to 1,200 passengers), but with a shorter crossing time of between 12 and 15 minutes. The crossing between the station of Charitas and that of the ''Praça 15 de Novembro''× is done by small catamarans, being this service considered selective transport.
Train
There was a railway extension for passenger transportation, 33 km long, connecting Niterói to the municipality of
Itaboraí, passing through
São Gonçalo. Until its deactivation in 2007 the extension was operated by the state-owned company Central. In the end, there were only two daily trips, one in each direction, using an obsolete train of the 1950s. The line is now deactivated and in several sections, the tracks have been removed by the municipalities of São Gonçalo and Niterói. Since in the future there is the proposal to use the bed of this branch for the implementation of part of the projected
Line 3 of the
Rio Metro between Niterói and Itaboraí.
Culture
Niterói is one of the largest historical and cultural centers in Brazil. Its culture is characterized by fishing villages (Jurujuba), forts, museums and futuristic monuments, such as the
Museum of Contemporary Art, the symbol of the municipality, built by the modernist architect
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...
and the Popular Theater of Niterói. The social culture is based on a very hospitable population, which resulted in the nickname of Niterói: "city-smile".
The architecture of Niterói is characterized by a contrast between the past and the present. Historic buildings, such as the Niterói State Library, the Justice Palace, the Niterói Post Office Building, the Municipal Theater of Niterói, the Cantareira Station, the Ingá Palace, the Solar do Jambeiro and the Niterói City Hall stand side by side to the side with works of futuristic bond, like, for example, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Square Juscelino Kubitschek. the Popular Theater of Niterói and the rest of the Niemeyer Way. Also known to have the best scout group in Brazil, the 4th GEMAR-Gaviões do Mar.
The Catholic churches also express a lot of niteroiense culture. The São Lourenço dos Índios Church, the foundation of the municipality, the Church of São Sebastião de Itaipu, Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem, the Church of Saint Peter the Fisherman, the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians embellish the streets with their
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
, classic and
colonial architecture
Colonial architecture is a hybrid architectural style that arose as colonists combined architectural styles from their country of origin with design characteristics of the settled country. Colonists frequently built houses and buildings in a sty ...
s.
Sports

With the massive immigration of English and European people to Brazil in the mid-19th century, the city of Niterói became one of the cradles of football in Rio de Janeiro.
Charles Miller, an Anglo-Brazilian businessman and sports referee, together with a group of visionaries such as
Algernon Francis Egert, founded the
Rio Cricket Athletic Association in 1897 and helped introduce the
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
and
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
to the country.
Besides being hometown of stars like
Leonardo,
Edmundo and
Gérson, the city is also homeland of the
Canto do Rio Foot-Ball Club, which was founded in 1913 and was the only club outside the city of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
to participate in the
Rio de Janeiro Championship in the 1940s. The club also had its anthem composed by
Lamartine Babo, composer of the anthems for every participant of the
Rio de Janeiro Championship of 1941 due to a radio campaign. The city is not currently represented in the elite of national football.
Other football clubs in the city are the
Fonseca Athletic Club, which recently announced its return to professional football and the Rio Cricket and Athletic Association, which participated in the first championship in Rio, reaching third place and having the championship set in its stadium. Rio Cricket also participated in (possibly) the first rivalry of Rio de Janeiro's football, with
Paissandu Atlético Clube
Paissandu Atlético Clube, commonly known as Paissandu, is a sports club from the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro. Initially the club was based in the Rua Paissandu in the neighborhood of Laranjeiras. Since 1953 it is at home in the neigh ...
, a club in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which was founded by Rio Cricket founders and has a
Rio de Janeiro Championship title.
The city also has the
Caio Martins Stadium, which is located in the Santa Rosa neighborhood and has for years been the home of
Canto do Rio and more recently
Botafogo
Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
in the 2000s. In 2007, the stadium's gymnasium was the stage of the final of the
Feminine Superleague of Volleyball, that finished with victory of the team of Rio de Janeiro. Nowadays, the stadium is used for training of
Botafogo
Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
and in games scheduled by the
FFERJ – Mostly, in championships of inferior divisions.
Administrative divisions
From 1943 to the late 1970s, the county of Niteroi comprised two districts only: the district of Niteroi (original area) and the district of Itaipu (acquired in 1943), which barely had an urban continuity or even proper road links to each other and were considered apart areas. The fractioning of Itaipu's farms into real estates as well its boom after the building of the Rio-Niterói's bridge demanded a better integration between the two sides of the county which led to the improving of the roads and urban facilities and a reformation on the make up of Niteroi's administrative division. The county was reorganised into five districts. In the early 1990s, the
administrative division of Niterói was altered once again, being the county now divided into twelve administrative, further subdivided into 52 ''bairros'' (neighborhoods) and 5 ''Regiões de Planejamento'' ("Planning Regions"):
[https://leismunicipais.com.br/a1/plano-diretor-niteroi-rj Legislação Municipal de Niterói/RJ]
Notable people
*
Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa –
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
*
André Marques – TV show host, entertainer
*
Baby Consuelo – singer
*
Benjamin Constant
Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a Swiss and French political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion.
A committed republican from 1795, Constant ...
– politician
*
Daniel Lins Cortês – footballer
*
Dedé Santana – former Brazilian comedian
*
Edinho – former footballer
*
Edmundo – footballer
*
Fernanda Keller – triathlete,
Ironman winner
*
Gérson – footballer
*
Isabel Swan – sailor, Olympic medalist
*
Leonardo – former Director of Football for
Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. With 52 major trophies ...
*
Lars Grael – sailor, Olympic champion
*
Altair
Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila (constellation), Aquila and the list of brightest stars, twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinisation of name ...
– football player
*
Leo Moura – football player
*
Manuel de Nóbrega
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name), a given name and surname
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* Manuel I ...
– Brazilian comedian
*
Václav Egert – Czech-Brazilian photo novel actor and model
*
Moacir Deriquém – Actor and Model
*
Carlos Alberto de Nóbrega – comedian, television host, scriptwriter, producer, executive director, actor and lawyer
*
Marcelo Ferreira – athlete (sailing), Olympic medallist
*
Martine Grael – sailor, Olympic champion
*
Matheus Fernandes – footballer
*
Jessé – singer
*
Perla Haney-Jardine – actress
*
Agnaldo Rayol – singer and actor
*
Rafael dos Anjos –
mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...
, former
UFC lightweight champion
*
Joílson Júnior – Greco-Roman wrestler, Pan American Games medalist
*
Ricardo Arona – fighter
*
Ronaldo Olive – journalist
*
Ronnie Von – singer
*
Sérgio Mendes
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; 11 February 1941 – 5 September 2024) was a Brazilian musician.
His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil '66. He released 35 albums and was known for playing bossa nova, often mixed with funk. He ...
- Singer, Songwriter
*
Sérgio Pereira da Silva Porto – physicist
*
Sheymon Moraes
Sheymon da Silva Moraes (born October 11, 1990) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the Featherweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2012, Moraes has also competed in the UFC and Professional Fighters ...
– mixed martial artist
*
Torben Grael – sailor, Olympic champion
*
Alfredo da Silva Moreira – pharmacist
Gallery
References
External links
History of the city of NiteróiNiterói Tourism Official Web SiteA guide to the city of NiteróiSatellite picture by Google MapsNiteróion
WikiMapiaGymnastic formation squadron of Niteroi, Nov. 2009Amo Niterói
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niteroi
Municipalities in Rio de Janeiro (state)
Guanabara Bay
Populated coastal places in Rio de Janeiro (state)
Populated places established in 1573
1573 establishments in Brazil
1573 establishments in the Portuguese Empire