Itabira | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Itabira | |
 .jpg)  .jpg)   | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Nicknames: | |
 Location in Minas Gerais | |
  Itabira Location in Brazil | |
| Coordinates:19°37′08″S43°13′37″W / 19.61889°S 43.22694°W /-19.61889; -43.22694 | |
| Country |  Brazil |
| State |  Minas Gerais |
| Region | Southeast |
| Intermediate Region | Belo Horizonte |
| Immediate Region | Itabira |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Marco Antônio Lage (PSB) |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,253.704 km2 (484.058 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 795 m (2,608 ft) |
| Population (2020 est.)[6] | |
• Total | 120,904 |
| • Density | 96.4374/km2 (249.772/sq mi) |
| Demonym | itabirano |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (BRT) |
| HDI (2010) | 0.756 –high[7] |
| Website | itabira |
Itabira is a Brazilianmunicipality and a major city in the state ofMinas Gerais. The city belongs to theBelo Horizontemetropolitan area mesoregion and to the Itabira microregion.
It is currently the twenty-fourth largest city in the state in terms of population, with 120,904 inhabitants, according to a 2020IBGE survey. It is known as the "Capital of Poetry", by virtue of being the birthplace ofpoetCarlos Drummond de Andrade, is part of theCircuit of the Gold and ofEstrada Real.
The first settlements at the site date to the early eighteenth century, when the village of Itabira do Mato Dentro was founded bybandeirantes seeking gold. Itabira was politically emancipated as amunicipality on 9 October 1848, through Provincial Law No. 374.[citation needed]
It is located in southeast Minas Gerais, 110 kilometers away from the state capital,Belo Horizonte and 845 kilometers away from the federal capitalBrasília. The highest point in the city is 1,672 meters above sea level, and is known asAlto da Mutuca. Itabira is an access point for a number of smaller cities, such asJaboticatubas,Santa Maria de Itabira,Itambé do Mato Dentro andNova Era. The closest international airport isTancredo Neves International Airport (Confins) inBelo Horizonte.
Itabira is a regional economic center, and hosts a thrivingiron ore extraction operation headed byCompanhia Vale do Rio Doce since 1942, when the company was created by PresidentGetúlio Vargas specifically for the mineral exploration of theRio Doce valley. As of 2017, it is the second largest mining company in the world, and a considerable part of its iron ore output comes from the mines at Itabira.[citation needed] As a result of the decades-old extraction operations, the city facesair pollution problems.[citation needed]
InCarlos Drummond de Andrade's poem "Confidência do Itabirano," the speaker remarks:[8]
"Tive ouro, tive gado, tive fazendas. Hoje sou funcionário público. Itabira é apenas uma fotografia na parede. Mas como dói!" | "I had gold, I had cattle, I had farms. Today I'm a public servant. Itabira is just a photograph on the wall. But oh, how it hurts!" |
Itabira has a one sister city:
Itajubá,Minas Gerais,Brazil[9]
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