Castelo is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the southwest of the state of

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Its population was 37,747 (2020) and its area is 664 km².

History

There is information on two

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

tribes inhabiting the area before the colonial era. The main tribe was called Puris, and the secondary, with less presence, were the Botocudos. The first non-native immigration into the region was of gold prospectors who moved into the area, but this was a short-lived adventure which by 1830 had been abandoned. After 1830, local interest turned towards the land. Medium-sized properties were established using slave labour until 1888, when it was abolished. Soon after, Italian immigrants from the neighbouring municipality of Alfredo Chaves began to settle in Castelo. In 1891 Castelo became a district of

Cachoeiro de Itapemirim Cachoeiro de Itapemirim () is a municipality and a major town, located in the south of Espírito Santo, Brazil, on the banks of the Itapemirim River. It is the economic hub of southern Espírito Santo, being the most important producer of marble ...

and remained part of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim until 1928, when it separated.

Geography

Highest point in the municipality is the Forno Grande Peak (2039 m), which is also the highest point in the state after Bandeira Peak, shared with

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. Castelo is 145 km from the state capital Vitória, and stands at 100 meters above sea level. Castelo's borders are: Alfredo Chaves and

Domingos Martins Domingos Martins is the name of a municipality in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. According to the IBGE, the municipality had 33,986 inhabitants. It has a population density of 25.9 inhabitants/km2. Geography Domingos Martins is approxim ...

(E),

Venda Nova do Imigrante Venda Nova do Imigrante is a municipality, with a capital of the same name, in east central Espírito Santo, Brazil. Created in 1989, by separating from Conceição do Castelo, it stands at a height of 630 meters above sea level. Its population wa ...

and

Conceição do Castelo Conceição do Castelo is a municipality in central Espírito Santo, Brazil. Its population was 12,806 (2020) and its area is 369 km2.IBGE /ref> History The municipality was created when it separated from Castelo, Espírito Santo, Castelo o ...

(N), Muniz Freire and Alegre (W) and

(S). The municipality contains the Forno Grande State Park, which protects the second highest peak in the state. It also contains the Mata das Flores State Park, created in 1992.

Population

Castelo is strongly influenced by Italian immigrants, who make up the great majority of the municipality's population. This influences today's traditional commemorations, very much Catholic-based in traditions like ''Corpus Christi''. This influence is also felt in the traditional Italian Folklore dance group, which still practices traditional

Piedmontese Piedmontese ( ; autonym: or ; ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, a region of Northwest Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regarded as an Italian ...

dances.

Notable people

* Cícero — Brazilian football player * Alessandro Celin — Brazilian football player *

Renato Casagrande José Renato Casagrande is the Governor of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. He was initially governor from 1 January 2011, until 1 January 2015. Then, he was elected to a new term as governor in 2018 and was reelected to a third term in 20 ...

— Politician * Gerson Camata — Politician

References

Municipalities in Espírito Santo {{EspiritoSanto-geo-stub