- São Cristóvão
São Cristóvão is a
Brazil ian city in the northeastern state ofSergipe . Its population was 75,353 (2005 ) and its area is 437 km². [ [http://www.ibge.gov.br/cidadesat/default.php IBGE] ] It is the third largest settlement in the state, behindAracaju andNossa Senhora do Socorro .History
It was established by the Portuguese (in a time when
Portugal ,Spain andNaples kingdoms were both under the rule ofPhilip II of Spain ) as one of the first colonization attempt in the state and it is the fourth oldest city in Brazil. The development of the town occurred following the Portuguese urban model, that is, in two plans: the higher town, where the headquarters of the civil and religious powers are; and lower town, with the harbour, the factories, and the low income population [ [http://www.braziltour.com/site/en/cidades/materia.php?id_cidade=8676®ioes=209&estados=352 Brazilian Tourism portal] ] . It was the state capital until1855 , when the provincial president Inácio Joaquim Barbosa moved the capital to Aracaju.The city has been designated a national monument to preserve its colonial architecture in january 1967. Among the important sacred buildings are the Church and Convent of São Francisco (which date from 1693), the Santa Casa de Miseracordia (17th century), the Chapel of Our Lady of Conception (1751), the Mother Church of Our Lady of Victory (1766) and several other important churches from the 18th century, including the Church of Our Lady of the Black Men's Rosary, the Church of Our Lady of Amparo, and the Monastery of São Bento. The Museum of Sacred Art, in the Church and Convent of São Francisco, is considered the third most important in Brazil.
Economy
The city is a shipping port, and its main industries are
sugar milling and distilling.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
