Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul
Encyclopedia
Bento Gonçalves (ˈbẽtu ɡõˈsawvis) is a town located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Created in 1875, it is one of the centres of the Italian immigration
Italian Brazilian
-Italian immigration to Brazil:The Italian government claims there are 25 million Brazilians of Italian descent, which would be the largest population of Italian background outside of Italy itself. There are no actual surveys, or even verifiable calculations supporting such claims. According to...

 in Brazil. It is also known as the 'wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 capital of Brazil', due to its vineyards and wine production. In 2010, its population was of 107,341 inhabitants.

Ernesto Geisel
Ernesto Geisel
Ernesto Beckmann Geisel, was a Brazilian military leader and politician of German descent who was President of Brazil from 1974 to 1979.-Early life and family:...

, President of Brazil from 1974-1979 (under the military dictatorship), was born in Bento Gonçalves in 1907.

History

Before 1870, the area where the city is located was known as Cruzinha. It was inhabited, as the rest of the region, by Indians of the group "jê".

In 1875, the Brazilian government created, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, four settlements to receive Italian immigrants. In the Cruzinha area, it was created a settlement named Dona Isabel - after the name of Brazilian princess Isabel de Bragança. At the same year, "Dona Isabel" received the first 25 families of Italian settlers. They came mostly from the region of Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...

.

During the next decades, the region was settled by immigrants coming mostly from the Italian regions of Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

, Trentino, and Lombardia.

In 1890, Dona Isabel was elevated to the category of city, changing the name to Bento Gonçalves - after the name of the military leader of the Farroupilha Revolution.

The Italian immigrants dedicated themselves mostly to the grape and wine production.

During the first decades of the 20th century, the city continued to receive immigrants. Besides the Italian, there were important groups of Polish, German, Swedish, French, and Spanish immigrants.

At that time, there were already important factories dedicated to the production of drinks, especially wine. The furniture and metallurgic industry also gave their first steps.

The railways arrived at the city on 1919, helping to connect it with the capital of the state, Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...

, and facilitating the transport of the economic production. Until 1976, there were regular passenger trains. Nowadays, the railways are used mostly for the transport of goods. There is also a tourism line, which connects the city with Garibaldi and Carlos Barbosa using an ancient locomotive.

Between 1919 and 1927, the electric light distribution system was installed. In the same period, it built the Hospital Bartolomeu Tacchini.

In 1950, the population was 22.600 inhabitants. The industrial activity expanded, especially in the wine, furniture, leather, chemical, and metal-mechanical sectors.

In 1967, the city organized the first National Wine Festival (Fenavinho), receiving, for the first time, the visit of a President of the Republic.

The city started to organize and receive many important events of national and international level. It is now home of the second biggest exposition park of Latin America. Among these events, we may point out the Movelsul (Furniture Fair), FIMMA Brasil (Furniture Machinery Fair), Vino Brasil (Wine Machinery Fair), Avaliação Nacional de Vinhos (National Wine Assessment) , Fenavinho e Expobento (Comercial Fair).

Economy

Bento Gonçalves is among the ten biggest economies of Rio Grande do Sul. It is the biggest producer of wine of Brazil and has the second biggest furniture production of the country. It has also important metal-mechanic, plastic and chemical industries. It has the highest Human Development Index of Rio Grande do Sul and the sixth among all Brazilian cities - 0,870 (PNUD/2000).

Tourism

One may experience the rolling country side of Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi
Garibaldi (city)
Garibaldi is a town in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. It has a population of 28,714 people, most of them of Italian descent. The city is famous for its wine and champagne productions. The name Garibaldi is an homage to the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Brazilian wife, Anita...

 and Carlos Barbosa
Carlos Barbosa
Carlos Barbosa is a city in the wine country in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. It is situated at 29º17'51" South and 51º30'13" West, at an altitude of 676 meters. Its population was estimated in 2004 to be 22 664 inhabitants. It has an area of 208,16 km sq...

by taking a day trip on the Maria Fumaça steam locomotive. One may also learn more about the Italian heritage of the people through such museums as Epopéia Italiana.

External links

City's website City Map of Bento Gonçalves Bento Gonçalves travel page History of Italian Immigration to Brazil
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