RELEASE ON VITORIA DE SANTO ANTÃO AND ITS HISTORICAL POINTS

Vitória de Santo Antão is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco, in the Northeast region of the country, 46 kilometers from the state capital, Recife. In 2020, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) estimated its population at 139,583 inhabitants, being the ninth most populous municipality in Pernambuco, the fourth most populous in the interior of the state and the most populous in the Zona da Mata. Vitória de Santo Antão is the only city in the Americas to have Santo Antão as its patron.

Story

City of Braga

In 1626, the Portuguese Antônio Diogo de Braga, coming from the island of Santo Antão, of the Cape Verde archipelago (former colony of Portugal), took up residence with his relatives and built a chapel in honor of Santo Antão.

Santo Antao da Mata

In 1774, the city of Braga was called Santo Antão da Mata, when it already had an estimated population of 4,866 inhabitants. On Saturdays, open markets were held, where residents manufactured their products by hand to meet convoys that came from the hinterland of Minas to buy these items.

Santo Antão da Mata, in addition to its privileged situation in terms of watercourses, was located as a crossing point on the path that went to São Francisco through the Mocotó Valley. The village, in this condition, must have had an important commercial role, in which the fact that "in their weekly fairs, the drovers sold cattle to supply Olinda and Recife, as well as brown sugar and honey (made in the contraptions of the parish), cotton cloth, fabrics (in modest domestic workshops)", among other products.

Santo Antao victory

Partial view of the Matriz neighborhood in 2016.

Evolving successively from the condition of a village to a parish, later passing to the category of village by the Royal Charter of 27 July 1811, signed by the then Prince Regent D. João, the municipality was officially installed on 28 May 1812.

Its territory included the parishes of Bezerros and Santo Antão, covering a large area of land, "corresponding, today, to the areas occupied by the municipalities of Vitória de Santo Antão, Pombos, Chã Grande, Gravatá, Bezerros, Caruaru, Bonito, São Caetano, Sairé, Camocim de São Félix, São Joaquim, Barra de Guabiraba, Riacho das Almas and Cortês".

By Provincial Law nº 113, of May 6, 1843, sanctioned by the Baron of Boa Vista, then President of the Province of Pernambuco, it was elevated to the status of a city, having its name changed to Cidade de Victoria, in honor of the battle won by the Pernambuco natives about the Dutch at Monte das Tabocas. This name, however, did not remain due to the existence of a Decree-Law that prohibited the existence of duplicates in the national toponymy.

After much discussion, the name of Vitória de Santo Antão was definitively accepted and recognized, on December 31, 1943, by State Decree No. 952, for municipality, county, term and district.

The occupation of the lands that make up the municipality took place in the 17th century, when farmers and breeders settled in the Tapacurá valley. The municipal formation began with the arrival of the Portuguese Diogo Braga, from the island of Santo Antão, in the Cape Verde archipelago, in 1626, when he settled in the land with the aim of developing agricultural and pastoral activities. Nowadays, the municipality is considered the most important in its mesoregion and one of the most important in the interior of the state, as it concentrates the largest population and polarizes the services and industry sectors in the Pernambuco forest zone.

It was even elevated to the status of a city, having at that time its name changed to Cidade da Vitória, in honor of the battle of Monte das Tabocas.

historical works

Sobradinho Mourisco (Rua Imperial, 81): considered the only remnant of the village of Santo Antão da Mata. Taipa building, dating from the beginning of the 18th century. It is the current seat of the Victorian Academy of Arts, Arts and Sciences.

Railway Station: built in 1886, it already served as the 1st disembarkation stop for passengers and cargo with destination Recife-Caruaru. Today the building is preserved and open to visitation, where there is a library and some cultural workshops.

Historical and Geographical Institute: true postcard of the city of Vitória de Santo Antão, located at Rua Imperial 187, in the Matriz district. The building hosted the Imperial family Dom Pedro II and D. Teresa Cristina, in 1859, on a visit to the State. Erected in 1851, the building draws attention for its decorated tile cladding. Founded on November 19, 1950, it is a non-profit civic and cultural civil society.

Municipal butcher: built by the City Council and inaugurated on November 6, 1856. The municipal butcher is a large space with architecture characterized by arches in its interior.

Farinha Market: built in 1913, a building with characteristics identical to those of the municipal butcher shop, with arches inside.

Monument of the Coroado Lion: reacting to the arrest order that the Portuguese Brigadier Barbosa de Castro had personally given him, Artillery Captain José de Barros Lima killed him with his sword in the regiment's barracks, on March 6, 1817 , motivating, with this bold gesture, the beginning of the republican revolution that started in Pernambuco on that date. He received the nickname (nickname) of "Lion Crowned".

When commemorating, in 1917, the centenary of this memorable episode in Pernambuco's history, the municipal government of Vitória, then exercised by Mayor Eurico Valois, named Praça Leão Coroado the former Largo da Estação railway with a monument of an athlete, crowned with laurels, overwhelming powerful lion, in homage to the brave patriot of 1817, work carried out by the sculptor Bibiano Silva.

Centenary Monument in honor of Jesus Christ: At the end of the 19th century, great tributes were paid to Our Lord Jesus Christ, by the entire Catholic community.

Monte das Tabocas Historical Site: Monte das Tabocas is an area of approximately 11 hectares, where on August 3, 1645 it was the scene of a famous battle between the Portuguese-Brazilians and the Dutch, when the Portuguese-Brazilians expelled the Dutch from the place. The first, led by Antônio Dias Cardoso and João Fernandes Vieira, entrenched in the high parts and protected by tabocais, defeated the Flemings.

The Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Nazaré, built with stones from the site, was inaugurated on August 3, 1945, day of the tercentenary of the Battle of Tabocas.

On November 9, 1978, a deed of expropriation of part of the area surrounding the main spire was signed. At the time of the battle, the vegetation was composed of huge bamboo groves, synonymous with tabocai trees, hence the name of Monte das Tabocas. Another wealth in the Site was Pau-Brasil. On March 11, 1986, the state government approved the listing of the historic site.

By: Roberto Barros