Santa María de Fe is a town and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

located in the

Misiones Department Misiones () is a Departments of Paraguay, department located in the southern region of Paraguay. Its capital is San Juan Bautista, Paraguay, San Juan Bautista. The eighth of Paraguay's 17 departments, it was created in 1906, then known as the ' ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, located about 15 km from the city of

San Ignacio San Ignacio (the Spanish language name of St. Ignatius (disambiguation), St. Ignatius) is a common toponym in parts of the world where that language is or was spoken: Argentina * San Ignacio, Argentina, Misiones Province * San Ignacio Miní, a ...

History

Father Emmanuel Berthot founded the town in 1647. The original church was destroyed by a fire in 1889. Fortunately, many paintings were able to be salvaged and can be admired today in the church and in the museum. In the museum there are many beautiful Baroque paintings and wooden sculptures on show. In 1787, Rev. José Agustín Molas was born in Santa María de Fe, one of the Catholic priests who took part in the independence revolution on 14 and 15 May 1811. Molas is remembered as one of the heroes who helped liberate Paraguay. The French explorer and botanist, Amado Aimé Bonpland was detained in Santa María until 1829. Whilst he was there, he taught the local population how to cultivate different plants and methods to produce candies and liquors. He married his wife María, a daughter of a cacique, with whom he had two children.

Geography

The district of Santa María de Fe is located in the Eastern Region of Paraguay. It's located 253 km south of Asuncion, the capital of the country, one arrives at Santa Maria, taking the National Route Number 1, and then taking a detour between the cities of

and

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

Limits

The district of Santa María is bordered by the following districts: * North: district of

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

and the department of

Caazapá Caazapá () is a city in Paraguay, founded in 1607, by Friar Luis de Bolaños. It is located in the Caazapá District and is the capital of the Caazapá Department. There are five neighbourhoods called "Barrios" in the city: Then main one is the ...

* East: district of

* South: districts of

and

* West:

Demography

According to the 2002 Census, Santa María has a total population of 7,385 inhabitants, of which 1,981 lives in the urban area of the district.

External links

Populated places in the Misiones Department {{Paraguay-geo-stub