Três Corações () 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 south of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

state in

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 ...

. As of 2020, the city population was estimated at 80,032, making it one of the largest cities in the south of Minas Gerais. The city is geographically located close to the

circumcenter In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a triangle is a circle that passes through all three vertices. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter of the triangle, and its radius is called the circumradius. The circumcen ...

of the three largest metropolitan areas in Brazil (

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

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

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 ...

), thus making it a strategic hub for commerce. Três Corações is internationally famous for being the birthplace of football legend

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

History

By the year 1760, the Portuguese Tomé Martins da Costa had settled on the banks of the Verde River to explore

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. After some years he built a big farm and started the construction of the "Santíssimos Corações de Jesus, Maria e José" (Most Holy Hearts of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

and

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

)

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

. In 1764 the

governor, D. Luiz Lobo Diogo Silva, visited Tomé M. Costa and noticed some small houses nearby. In 1790, Captain Domingos Dias de Barros, Tomé's son in law, built a bigger chapel on the site where the old one stood. It was opened to the public of Três Corações do Rio Verde and the Três Sacratíssimos Corações parish in 1832. Três Corações do Rio Verde became part of the Minas Gerais Province in 1873, after the President of the province sanctioned laws establishing that the territory was part of its civil parish. The town continued to develop civically after Emperor Pedro II and the imperial family visited it in 1884, for the inaugural of the Minas & Rio railroad. The railroad connected the town to Cruzeiro, a town in São Paulo Province. Three months following the emperor's visit, the town was emancipated and became categorized as a city. Though formally known as Três Corações do Rio Verde, on September 7, 1923, the city became known as Três Corações. The village has been known as Três Corações ("Three Hearts" in Portuguese) because of the name of the chapel (hearts of

and

). That is the political and official history. There are two other versions as to the origin of the city's name. One is that the path through which the river flows around the city forms the shape of three hearts. The other, more poetic version, tells the story of three cowboys, who while passing through the town from Goias, came upon three women, Jacyra, Jussara, and Moema. The women captured their attention, and the cowboys fell in love with them. The municipality is watered by the following rivers: Verde, Peixe, Palmela, Lambari, besides several streams. The great reservoir of Furnas is located to the northwest at a distance of about 40 km. The important interstate highway, the BR 381 ( Rodovia Fernão Dias) is located at a distance of 8 km.

Geography

City limits and distances

Municipal boundaries

*North - Varginha and Carmo da Cachoeira *South - Conceição do Rio Verde and Cambuquira *East - São Bento Abade and São Tomé das Letras *West - Campanha and Monsenhor Paulo.

Distances to other cities

Varginha Varginha is a municipality in southwest Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Varginha stands out as one of the major centers of commerce and coffee production in Brazil and the world. The city is a center for export of coffee draining most of the producti ...

: 30 km * São Lourenço: 93 km * Pouso Alegre: 112 km *

Juiz de Fora Juiz de Fora (; ), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 census the current population is 54 ...

: 272 km *

: 287 km *

: 295 km *

: 360 km

Climate

Três Corações has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cwa'') characterized by wet, warm summers and dry, cool winters. The average monthly precipitation is 120.97 mm (4.76 in). The wettest month is December (with an average rainfall of 272.2 mm or 10.72 in) and the driest month is July (with an average rainfall of 13.1 mm or 0.52 in). The average monthly temperature is 19.2 °C (66.6 °F). The hottest month is February (with a daily mean of 22.3 °C or 72.1 °F) and the coldest month is June (with a daily mean of 14.9 °C or 58.8 °F).

Economy

Cattle raising plays an important role in the economy, with both dairy and beef cattle being represented. The main agricultural products are coffee, corn, potatoes, beans, rice, and regional fruits. The main natural resource (mineral) is the São Tomé stone, which is used in civil construction. There are light industries producing toys, highway signs, fertilizers, leather, milk products, steel wheels for cars, aluminum wheels, copper wires, and animal food among others.

University

The city has one university maintained by local authorities: Universidade Vale do Rio Verde (UNINCOR), which offers courses in several areas, including dentistry.

Sports

The city has a football stadium: Estádio Municipal Rei Pelé, with 3,800 people capacity. Local team Atlético de Três Corações hosts its games there. Named in honor of

in 2023, it was formerly called Estádio Elias Arbex.

Notable people

Três Corações is the birthplace of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

legend

. Among other things there is a statue prominently placed in a plaza near downtown and a street, Rua Edson Arantes do Nascimento, named in his honour (the street was given Pelé's full birth name). Also Carlos Luz, the 19th

president of Brazil The president of Brazil (), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil () or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the ...

and so far the shortest-serving one having held the office only for two days in 1955 before he was ousted by a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, was born in Três Corações.

References

External links

Três Corações City Hall website

City Brazil article on Três Corações
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tres Coracoes Municipalities in Minas Gerais Populated places established in the 1760s