HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

São Vicente (after Saint Vincent of Saragossa, the patron Saint of
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
,
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 ...
) is a coastal
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 southern
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of the Baixada Santista. The population is 329,911 (2022 est.) in an area of . Founded in 1532, by the Portuguese
explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...
and colonial administrator
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 ...
, it is the first permanent village (colonial settlement) established in Brazil, and the first election on the American continent also took place there. Because of this, it is considered the "cradle of American democracy". São Vicente is one of the 15 municipalities in São Paulo considered
seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...
s by the state of São Paulo, as they meet certain prerequisites defined by State Law. This status guaranteed the municipality a larger budget from the State to promote regional tourism. Furthermore, the municipality acquires the right to add, next to its name, the title of "Estância Balneária" (Balneary Resort), a term by which it is designated both by official municipal records and by state references. Historical tourism and beach tourism are among the most relevant sectors of its economy.


History

It was the first permanent Portuguese settlement in the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
Rachel Lawrence: 2010, Page 183 and the first capital of the
Captaincy of São Vicente The Captaincy of São Vicente (1534–1709) was a land grant and colonial administration in the far southern part of the colonial Portuguese Empire in Colonial Brazil. History In 1534 King John III of Portugal granted the captaincy to Martim ...
, roughly the present state of São Paulo. Established as a proper village in 1532 by
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 ...
on what was then the Porto dos Escravos ("Port of the Slaves"), operated by three Portuguese colonists who trafficked on slaves captured by allied tribes, São Vicente is titled ''Cellula Mater'' (Mother Cell) of Brazil for being the first organized town in the country. The first City Council of all the Americas was democratically elected and established in São Vicente on August 22, 1532. A battle took place here on 3 February 1583 when three English warships attempting to trade with the Portuguese, was set upon by three Spanish galleons. The Spanish ships were repelled and retreated leaving one galleon sunk.


Geography

São Vicente is located on the western half of coastal São Vicente Island, being mostly a
bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
for the larger and wealthier neighbouring port and commercial city of Santos on the island's eastern half. A small north–south hill range separates for the most part the two cities' urban areas, but they are contiguous in the north and on a narrow beach strip in the south. A narrow strip of land of the basin of the small Cubatão River extends west out of the central area of São Vicente, north and parallel to the municipality of Praia Grande. São Vicente Suspension Bridge, linking the island to Praia Grande on the mainland, was constructed in 1914; a second link, the Mar Pequeno Bridge, was opened in 1981. São Vicente is linked to the capital city of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
by the Imigrantes Highway and to the southern coast by the Manuel da Nóbrega Highway. São Vicente has a small fishing industry in its portion on the mainland, where there are a few small settlements.


Noted places

The Monument of 500 years of Brazil (''Monumento dos 500 anos do Brasil'') is a viewing platform on Porchat Island, an islet which extends from the south of São Vicente Island. The platform was designed by the 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 ...
(1907–2012). It faces roughly north in an imaginary line to the National Congress in
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 ...
, completed by Niemeyer and others in 1960. The municipality contains part of the Xixová-Japuí State Park, created in 1993.


Population history


Transport

The Baixada Santista region is connected to
Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo () is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Região Metropolitana de São Paulo' ...
by highway through the Anchieta-Imigrantes System. The Imigrantes Highway reaches the municipality, crossing the urban island area and heading towards Praia Grande by crossing the Canal dos Barreiros via the Ponte do Mar Pequeno. Towards the South Coast, starting from the Imigrantes Highway, there is the Padre Manoel da Nóbrega Highway, which crosses the entire continental portion of the municipality between Serra do Mar and the Samaritá plain. The municipality is crossed from east to west on the island and on the continental part by the lines of América Latina Logística - ALL (former network of Ferrovia Paulista - FEPASA), which, heading west, connects São Vicente with Praia Grande, Mongaguá, Itanhaém and Peruíbe; heading east with Santos and heading north, it reaches the Planalto Paulistano, to the south of Greater São Paulo, in Embu-Guaçu. The
Suspension Bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...
was built in
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...
and was designed by engineer Saturnino de Brito, who at the time applied German sewage drainage technology to the Itaipu Bridge. Today, it connects the island of São Vicente to the mainland, providing access to the municipality of Praia Grande, and is also one of the city's main tourist attractions due to its beauty.


Media

In telecommunications, the city was served by the Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).


Notable people

* Wlamir Marques, basketball player, Olympic medallist and World Champion * Cosmo Alexandre, kickboxer and
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 ...
* Larissa Pimenta, judoka * Jefferson, footballer


International relations

São Vicente is twinned with: *
Naha, Okinawa is the Cities of Japan, capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 people per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...


See also

*
List of municipalities in São Paulo This is a list of the municipalities in the state of São Paulo (SP), located in the Southeast Region of Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countr ...


Bibliography

* *


References


External links

*
São Vicente's official home page
*

*
São Vicente São Paulo Brazil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Vicente, Sao Paulo Municipalities in São Paulo (state) Populated coastal places in São Paulo (state) Populated places established in 1532 Baixada Santista 1532 establishments in the Portuguese Empire