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Teresina

Capital city of Piauí, Brazil

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Images of Teresina, Brazil.
See above. Compilation by Heitor Carvalho Jorge · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Through Municipality and Conurbation

Teresina is the capital with the best quality of life in the North-Northeast according to FIRJANTooltip Industry Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro and the fourth in Brazil. It is among the 50 cities in the world with the highest murder rates, with 315 homicides in 2017.

Its motto is the Latin phrase Omnia in Charitatis, which means, in English, "All for charity". The city is the birthplace of, among others, Torquato Neto, who belonged to the Tropicalismo movement.

Its cathedral, Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora das Dores, dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, is the archiepiscopal see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Teresina.

History and names

Teresina was founded on August 16, 1852, under the name of Vila Nova do Poty (because its origin is linked to the Poti river) as the capital of the state of Piauí. It was the first planned city in the Brazil and the only northeast capital located out of the coast. Until 1852, Oeiras was the capital of the Piauí Captaincy. However, due to difficulties in communication and trade, the capital was transferred to an area next to the Parnaíba River, to the other cities and to the sea coast. Colonization of the area where Teresina is now located dates back to the 18th century. The chosen place was a small community of fishermen, in 1760, nearby Poty and Panaíba rivers, which grew into a village called "Vila do Poty", but, due to the inundation of the Parnaíba River riverbanks, the city had to be built in a higher position.

In the 19th century, it was initially called Vila Nova do Poty, but later the city was renamed Teresina, in honor of Empress Teresa Cristina, the wife of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.

Teresina is the hottest city in the country and the city with the third-highest incidence of lightning in the world. Nowadays, Teresina's economy is based on international manufacturing industries and trade.

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