The City on the Island of Love

Back in 1493, only one year after Christopher Columbus arrived in America, Pope Alexander VI, the notorious Rodrigo Borgia, gave a bull to divide the New World only between Spain and Portugal. But France and England and Dutch had their interest too in those lands. France established Nouvelle France in Quebec, present-day Canada, France Antarctique in present-day Rio de Janeiro (Portuguese found the city) and France équinoxiale, in present-day Brazil, around the line of Equator. Originally there was a town of the Tupinamba tribe and they built a fort which was named Saint Louis as a dedication to King Louis IX. This was in 1612 and in only three years, it was conquered for Portugal by Jerônimo de Albuquerque and renamed renamed São Luís. Also the Dutch invaded the city and stayed there from 1641 until 1645. Sugar cane, cacao, tobacco and cotton were the goods that created wealth and modernize the city. In our days, the city has a large and very good preserved heritage of colonial Portuguese architecture and because of that it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site from 1997. From 1989 there was a program to restore and renovate the city's historical center. The city is built on an island and also because of that it is called "Island of Love" but more because there lived many famous Brazilian poets and writers. Those towns from northern part of Brazil and around Amazon are a dream place to visit. I imagine that the World is very different there. The food, the fruits, the people make me think of a dream place even though there is a lot of poverty - everything else compensate the poverty in my opinion but for sure many locals don’t think that and I understand.


PS: I saw on the official site that this year they celebrate 400 years: 1612-2012 :D

-2.528092,-44.304774 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.

Wikipedia For more information, links, pictures and many more Wikipedia is the perfect site to be informed.

Official Site For visiting information (like fees and open days and times) use the official site.
Brazil For travel information, the official site of the National Tourist Board, is the perfect location.