Itabira is a Brazilian

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' ...

and a major city in the state of

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 ...

. The city belongs to the

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

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 2020

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil. IBGE performs a decennial national cen ...

survey. It is known as the "Capital of Poetry", by virtue of being the birthplace of

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Carlos Drummond de Andrade Carlos Drummond de Andrade () (October 31, 1902 – August 17, 1987) was a Brazilian poet and writer, considered by some as the greatest Brazilian poet of all time. He has become something of a national cultural symbol in Brazil, where his wi ...

, is part of the Circuit of the Gold and of

Estrada Real Estrada Real (, ''Royal Road'') was an epithet applied to the roads built and maintained by the Portuguese Crown both in Portugal itself and in the Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas territories. Presently it is used to designate a set of ...

History

The first settlements at the site date to the early eighteenth century, when the village of Itabira do Mato Dentro was founded by

bandeirantes ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous peoples during the early modern period. T ...

seeking gold. Itabira was politically emancipated as a

on 9 October 1848, through Provincial Law No. 374.

Geography

It is located in southeast Minas Gerais, 110 kilometers away from the state capital,

and 845 kilometers away from the federal capital

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

. The highest point in the city is 1,672 meters above sea level, and is known as

Alto da Mutuca The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses ...

. Itabira is an access point for a number of smaller cities, such as

Jaboticatubas Jaboticatubas is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais (M ...

Santa Maria de Itabira Santa Maria de Itabira is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Itabira. As of 2020, the estimated population was 10,857. Se ...

, Itambé do Mato Dentro and

Nova Era Nova Era is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Itabira. As of 2020, the estimated population was 17,551. See also * List of municipalitie ...

. The closest international airport is

Tancredo Neves International Airport Belo Horizonte/Confins–Tancredo Neves International Airport, formerly called Confins International Airport, is the primary international airport serving Belo Horizonte, located in the municipality of Confins, in the state of Minas Gerais. Sin ...

(Confins) in

. Itabira is a regional economic center, and hosts a thriving

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

extraction operation headed by

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce Vale (), formerly ''Companhia Vale do Rio Doce'' (Doce River Valley Company), is a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining and one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil. Vale is the largest producer of iron ore an ...

since 1942, when the company was created by President

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

specifically for the mineral exploration of the Rio 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. As a result of the decades-old extraction operations, the city faces

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

problems.

Culture

's poem "''Confidência do Itabirano''," the speaker remarks:

Notable people

, poet and writer. *

Ana Beatriz Barros Ana Beatriz Barros (born 29 May 1982) is a Brazilian model, known for her multiple appearances in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' and for her work with Intimissimi, GUESS (clothing), GUESS, Bebe stores, Bebe, Victoria's Secret, Chanel c ...

, Brazilian top model. * Renan Oliveira, Brazilian footballer. *

Didi Didi Chuxing Technology Company is a Chinese vehicle for hire company headquartered in Beijing with over 550 million users and tens of millions of drivers. The company provides app-based transportation services, including taxi hailing, private ...

, former Brazilian footballer. * Marco Túlio, Brazilian footballer. *

Talmo Oliveira Talmo Curto de Oliveira (born October 10, 1969), known as Talmo, is a Brazilian retired volleyball player. He was a member of the Brazilian national volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona Barcelon ...

, former volleyball player. * Alessandro Vinícius, Brazilian footballer.

Sister cities - twin towns

Itabira has a one sister city:

Itajubá Itajubá is a municipality in southeastern Minas Gerais state of the Federative Republic of Brazil. It lies in a valley by the Sapucaí river and has terrain elevations ranging from 827 to 1500 metres, occupying an area of 290.45 km2 (112.14&n ...

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 ...

DeFato Online: Itabira é declarada cidade-irmã de Itajubá; o foco é o crescimento da Unifei
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References

Municipalities in Minas Gerais {{MinasGerais-geo-stub