Itapira
Encyclopedia
Itapira is a municipality in the state of São Paulo
in Brazil
. Its population in 2004 was 66,861 and the area is 518.89 km². The elevation is 643 m. Founded around 1820, the name Itapira
(meaning Stone Fish in the Tupi language) was officially adopted in 1890
.
The current mayor is Antonio Hélio Nicolai, known as Toninho Bellini, and a keen football supporter.
Itapira services an agricultural hinterland which grows oranges, sugar-cane, cattle and (now-declining) coffee, but is also a manufacturing centre, specializing in wood and paper products, agricultural machinery, and ethanol production. The establishment in 1937 (by spiritist
groups) of the pioneering Instituto Bairral psychiatric hospital in Itapira has fostered a well-developed health sector, both public and private. The town is home to a large number of professionals (such as the noted economist J.B. de Souza Ferreira Fo.), many of whom commute to neighbouring towns such as Campinas.
The town's Historical Museum displays interesting relics of one of the last major battles of the Paulista War
, which was fought nearby.
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
in 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...
. Its population in 2004 was 66,861 and the area is 518.89 km². The elevation is 643 m. Founded around 1820, the name Itapira
(meaning Stone Fish in the Tupi language) was officially adopted in 1890
.
The current mayor is Antonio Hélio Nicolai, known as Toninho Bellini, and a keen football supporter.
Itapira services an agricultural hinterland which grows oranges, sugar-cane, cattle and (now-declining) coffee, but is also a manufacturing centre, specializing in wood and paper products, agricultural machinery, and ethanol production. The establishment in 1937 (by spiritist
Spiritism
Spiritism is a loose corpus of religious faiths having in common the general belief in the survival of a spirit after death. In a stricter sense, it is the religion, beliefs and practices of the people affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, based on the works of Allan Kardec and others...
groups) of the pioneering Instituto Bairral psychiatric hospital in Itapira has fostered a well-developed health sector, both public and private. The town is home to a large number of professionals (such as the noted economist J.B. de Souza Ferreira Fo.), many of whom commute to neighbouring towns such as Campinas.
The town's Historical Museum displays interesting relics of one of the last major battles of the Paulista War
Constitutionalist Revolution
The Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 is the name given to the uprising of the population of the Brazilian state of São Paulo against the 1930 coup d'état whereby Getúlio Vargas assumed the nation's Presidency; Vargas was supported by the military and the political elites of Minas Gerais, Rio...
, which was fought nearby.