Piracicaba (Portuguese pronunciation:[piɾɐsiˈkabɐ] or [piˌɾasiˈkabɐ]) is a city located in the Brazilianstate of São Paulo. The population is 423,323 (2022) in an area of 1,378.07 km2.[2] It is at an elevation of 547 m above sea level.
Name
The place name comes from a word in the Tupi language that means "place where the fish stops", and it is formed by the junction of the terms pirá ("fish"), syk ("stop") and aba ("place").[3]
The name refers to the waterfalls of the Piracicaba River, which bisects the city, which is a point where the "piracema"—fish swimming upstream to reproduce— are stopped.[4]
History
This section needs expansion with: sourced details regarding the history between 1877 and 1944, and from 1944 to present. You can help by adding to it. (March 2016)
In 1766, Antonio Correa Barbosa, charged with the task of establishing a settlement on the estuary of Piracicaba river, opted for a location about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from it.[5] The settlement was officially founded on August 1, 1767, as a povoação subordinated to the vila ofItu.[6] In 1784, Piracicaba got emancipated from Itu, becoming a freguesia.[6]
In 1821, the freguesia was promoted to vila, known as Vila Nova da Constituição. In 1856, Vila Nova da Constituição was promoted to city status and in 1877 it was officially named "Piracicaba", following a law by the then councilman and future Brazilian president Prudente de Morais.[6]
Piracicaba is known by the nickname "Noiva da Colina",[11] meaning "Bride of the Hill", and is the annual host to the "Festa das Nações" (Nations' Party, where people may find foods from all over the world),[12] and to the "Salão Internacional do Humor" (International Humor Exhibition), where cartoonists from around the world display comic drawings.[13][14]
Upscale houses in the cityView of an avenue in Piracicaba.
The city is an important and traditional producer of sugarcane.[18] The harvest of sugarcane allows for the production of many derivates, including sugar, oil, and ethanol.[19]Copersucar, a large company that has a center of research on genetic improvement of sugarcane, participates in this growing industry.[20][21]
Piracicaba's altitude is 554 meters.[25] Temperatures through the year vary from average highs of 30 °C to average lows of 12.0 °C,[26] and Piracicaba experiences an average annual rainfall of 123 centimeters.[27] The area of the city is 1,378 square kilometers, making it the 13th largest city in the State of São Paulo.[28] The urban area of Piracicaba is 233.36 square kilometers.[29]
The population in 2019 was 423.323. The Human Development Index for the city was 0.710 in 2000, and 0.785 in 2010, both falling in the "high" category.[30]
Like the cultural variety in Piracicaba, there are several religious manifestations in the city. It is possible to find in the city dozens of different Protestant denominations, as well as the practice of Buddhism, Islamism, Spiritism, and others. In the last decades, Buddhism and Eastern religions have grown in the city. There also are the Jewish, Mormon and Afro-Brazilian religions. According to data from the 2019 Census conducted by the IBGE, the population of Piracicaba was composed that year by Catholics (59.78%), Evangelicals (27.42%), no religious affiliation (7.47%), Spiritist (2.9%) and Jehovah's Witnesses (0.95%). The remaining 2.09% of the resident population declared themselves of other denominations or of undetermined religion.
As of 2010, water and power are supplied at a level approaching 100% of the households.[35] As of 2019 there were 2.15 inhabitants per car in the city,[36] and, in 2022, roughly 0.72 inhabitants per mobile phone line, with 99% of the city's population calculated as having access to a mobile phone.[37]
Media
In telecommunications, the city was served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo.[38] In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).[39]
^AW Staff (2011-02-28). "Brazil: Hyundai breaks ground on Piracicaba plant". automotiveworld.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016. [Quoting:] Hyundai has launched construction on its Piracicaba plant in Brazil's Sao Paulo state. The new 150,000upa plant is Hyundai's seventh outside of South Korea. The manufacturer is investing US$600m in the Piracicaba facility, which will start production in the second half of 2012
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