Paraty
Encyclopedia
Paraty [pronounced Par-a-CHEE] is a preserved Portuguese colonial
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...

 (1500-1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) town with a population of about 36,000. It is located on the Costa Verde (Green Coast), a lush, green corridor that runs along the coastline of the state of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...

, in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Paraty has become a popular tourist area in recent years, renowned for the historic town and the coast and mountains in the region.

Geography

The town is located on the Bay of Ilha Grande, which is dotted with many tropical islands. Rising up as high as 1,300 meters behind the town are tropical forests, mountains, and waterfalls. It is the southernmost and westernmost city in Rio de Janeiro state.

Paraty is surrounded by many parks and nature preserves, including Serra da Bocaina National Park, Serra do Mar State Park
Serra do Mar State Park
thumb|Bocaiuva do Sul in the Serra do Mar State ParkThe Serra do Mar State Park is an Integral Protection Conservation program in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It covers 315,000 hectares and is one of the largest remaining areas of continuous Atlantic Forest. The State Park stretches from the...

 (of São Paulo), the Park Reserve of Joatinga and the Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area
Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area
Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area is an Environmentally Protected Area of Brazil....

, where the village of Trindade is located. The municipality also includes an indigenous village and an Afro-Brazilian quilombo
Quilombo
A quilombo is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin, Quilombolas, or Maroons. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos were escaped slaves and, in some cases, a minority of marginalised Portuguese, Brazilian aboriginals, Jews and Arabs, and/or other non-black,...

.

Climate

The temperature in Paraty ranges from 16C to 37C. Its wettest month is February. However, sea breezes temper the heat and afternoon rains are common in the summer.

Flag of Paraty

The flag of Paraty was adopted on August 12, 1967. The overall colors of the flag represent the following traits: gold signifies strength, silver represents innocence, red is bravery, blue serenity, and green is the color of abundance.

Red, white, and blue are the three colors that have traditionally been used to decorate the historic houses of the city. The colors are displayed in three vertical stripes, with a coat of arms on the center. The large white star on the red stripe symbolizes the first district, and on the blue stripe two small stars represent the second and third districts. The three stars are placed in a triangular form, in homage to the strong presence of Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 in the architecture of the city.

Coat of Arms

The coat of arms shown on the flag was adopted on November 30, 1960. The four quarters of the coat of arms symbolize the following:
  1. The first green-colored quarter on the upper left-hand side with a feathered headdress above two crossed arrows, represents the original inhabitants of the region, the Guaianás tribe.
  2. The second quarter in red with a white oval seal with the royal Portuguese coat of arms surrounded by the word "Remédios," a seal which was used in colonial times to authenticate official documents; Our Lady of Remedies has been patron saint of the town since 1646.
  3. The third quarter, which is white, blue and yellow is an outline of the city and the bay with a superimposed silver fish that is perhaps a reference to Tupi language  origin of the city name.
  4. Finally the fourth quarter of blue shows the corner of a colonial house and a wrought-iron rail which is representative of the colonial-style houses that exemplify Paraty.


The flora which supports the red scroll are a branch of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

 tree and a stalk of sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

. The scroll itself bears the inscription “1660 Paraty 1844” These are the dates that Paraty initially achieved status as a town and then later city status. Above the shield is a crown consisting of five towers, with the center tower emblazoned with a red shield bearing a gold fleur-de-lis, which symbolizes Our Lady of Remedies, the patron saint of the city.

History

Paraty was founded formally as a town by Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 colonizers in 1667, in a region populated by the Guaianás Indians.

The Guaianás people who lived where the city now stands called the entire area “Paraty”. In the Tupi language “Paraty” means “river of fish”. Even today the Brazilian Mullet (Mugil
Mugil
Mugil is one genus among 17 genera containing all together about 80 species of ray-finned fish of the family Mugilidae commonly known as mullet...

 brasiliensis
) still come back to spawn in the rivers that spill into the Bay of Paraty. When the region was colonized by the Portuguese, they adopted the Guaianás name for their new town.

The Gold Trail

After the discovery of the world's richest gold mines in 1696 in the mountains of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...

, Paraty became an export port for gold to Rio de Janeiro and from there on to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. The ensuing gold rush led to the construction of the "Caminho do Ouro" or "Gold Trail", a 1200 kilometer road, paved in steep areas with large stones, which connected Paraty to Diamantina via Ouro Preto
Ouro Preto
-History:Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto was originally called Vila Rica, or "rich village," the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil's golden age in the 18th century under Portuguese rule....

 and Tiradentes
Tiradentes, Minas Gerais
Tiradentes is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is located at , has an area of 83.5 km², and a maximum height of 927 m. Tiradentes had an estimated population of 6,364, as of 2004. The original village was established in 1702 and become a city on 19 January 1718....

. Not only was it used to transport gold to Paraty, but it was also used to convey supplies, miners and African slaves by mule train over the mountains to and from the gold mining areas. Two substantial sections of the Caminho do Ouro have been excavated near Paraty and are now a popular tourist destination for hiking.

The Gold Trail fell into disuse because of attacks on the gold laden ships bound for Rio de Janeiro by pirates who frequented the islands and coves of the Bay of Angra dos Reis. Eventually a safer overland route from Minas Gerais to Rio de Janeiro was created because of these pirate raids. Finally, the gold itself began to run out in the late 18th century, and Paraty declined.

The Gold Trail was submitted for inclusion on the World Heritage List in August 2004.

Economic Revival

The city's economic activity revived as a port for a new boom, the coffee trade of the Paraiba do Sul River Valley in the early 19th century, until a railway along the valley created cheaper transport to the port of Rio de Janeiro. Another smaller revival came late in the 19th century with the production of cachaça
Cachaça
Cachaça is a liquor made from fermented sugarcane.It is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil. It is also known as aguardente, pinga, caninha and many other names...

, which is a sugarcane-derived spirit best known today as the basis for Brazil's most famous drink, the caipirinha
Caipirinha
Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça , sugar and lime. Cachaça is Brazil's most common distilled alcoholic beverage . Both rum and cachaça are made from sugarcane-derived products...

. The name "Paraty" in that period became synonymous with cachaça.
Since then, Paraty has been out of the mainstream, which is why it did not change for centuries, until a paved road was built from Rio de Janeiro to Santos
Santos (São Paulo)
-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...

, near São Paulo, in the 1970s. The city then began a new cycle of activity, which transformed a small, almost abandoned town living on very limited economic activity, mainly fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 (banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

s, manioc, sugarcane]] into a tourism destination.

Architecture

Paraty is known for the cobblestone
Cobblestone
Cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early streets. "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob", which had a wide range of meanings, one of which was "rounded lump" with overtones of large size...

-paved streets throughout the Historic Center District. No cars or trucks are allowed in this part of town, only foot traffic or bicycles. Motor vehicles are only allowed in the Historic District on Wednesdays for deliveries. Horses and carts are a very common sight in Paraty and are frequently used all around the city.

Paraty has been able to maintain many of its historic buildings. Much of the architecture of the city has not changed for 250 years or more.

Capela de Santa Rita (Chapel of Saint Rita)

Capela de Santa Rita is the oldest church in Paraty. It was completed in 1722. This was the church of the white elite and freeman, former slaves. It is currently home to the Museum of Sacred Art.

Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e São Benedito (Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and Saint Benedict)

This church was built and used by Paraty’s African slaves. It dates back to the year 1725. The church has a much simpler, more rustic style than the other three churches in Paraty. Every year in the first week of December the festivities of São Benedito are held in this church.

Capela de Nossa Senhora das Dores (Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows)

This chapel dates back to 1800. It was used mostly by the rich women of society. Construction was overseen by the presiding priest, Father Antonio Xavier da Silva Braga. The building was later renovated in 1901. The image of Nossa Senhora da Piedade was stolen from this chapel. It was finally recovered in the 1990s, and now can be seen at the Museum of Sacred Art in the Capela de Santa Rita.

Igreja Matriz Nossa Senhora do Remédios (First Church of Our Lady of the Remedies)

Igreja Matriz Nossa Senhora do Remédios is the largest church in Paraty. It takes up over an entire city block. Its construction began in 1646 when a woman named Maria Jácome de Melo donated the land for the construction of the village of Paraty, however she demanded two conditions: The first was the building of a chapel dedicated to Nossa Senhora dos Remédios and the second was that no one would harm the Indians that lived in the area at that time. The church was completed in 1873.

Capela da Generosa (Chapel of the Generous Woman)

Additionally there is a very small chapel called Capela da Generosa which according to legend, was constructed in 1901 by the order of a generous female patron, in memory of Teodoro. Teodoro supposedly drowned in the river Perequê-Açu when he tried to fish on Holy Friday, a day on which according to tradition it was not recommend to fish.

Capela Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Chapel of Our Lady of the Conception)

There are also historical churches in two nearby small villages, Paraty Mirim and Penha.

Paraty-Mirim (Little Paraty) is the site of first chapel built by settlers in the region around Paraty (1686). At the time of its construction Paraty-Mirim an important commercial center and thriving village. Today however, all that remains there are the church itself and a scattering private homes. Although in recent years the tourist trade has grown there due to the pristine beaches in the area and Paraty-Mirim now has a few small inns, a couple of restaurant/bars and offers boat tours.

Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Penha (Church of Our Lady of the Rock)

This church is unique in that it was built on top of a huge boulder in the small hamlet of Penha, just outside Paraty. The church is located directly across from the Tourist Information Center at the trail-head of the Caminho do Ouro.

Forte Defensor

Forte Defensor was built in 1703 and outfitted with six cannons for the protection of the city’s important commercial warehouses. With the aforementioned economic decline of the region, it was in ruins until 1822, when it was reconstructed and dedicated to Emperor Dom Pedro I. Some historians believe that it was at the fort that the first nucleus of the town began, in that the area around the fort is still referred to as the "Old Village."

Ruins of the old, rock defensive walls together with the cannons can still be seen today. It is also home to a Powder House for storing explosives - one of the few still existing in Brazil. Forte Defensor is one of seven fortifications that were built around the harbor of Paraty, two of them being in the city. All of the others that were constructed outside the city are now only ruins.

Forte Patitiba [Cadeia Antiga]

What is left of this Fort, also known as Cadeia Antiga (the Old Jail) is a smallish structure which for a while was also used as a prison. It is found in the plaza of Santa Rita, next to the church of same name. Constructed in the beginning of 18th century, the building was part of a larger Forte Patitiba, the other blockhouse built in the city for defense of the harbor. In the 19th century it was decommissioned and today it houses the local Public Library.
There are also many colorful, colonial houses (refurbished in most cases), many of which have been transformed into shops, pousadas (Brazilian bed and breakfasts), restaurants and bars.

Flooded Streets

Thanks to Portuguese engineering involving an ingenious curvature of the cobblestone streets, Paraty is home to a unique phenomenon. Once a month when there is a Full Moon
Full moon
Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...

 and the tide is high, seawater rises from its normal levels, and pours into the Historic Center District through special openings in the seawall
Seawall
A seawall is a form of coastal defence constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation and leisure activities from the action of tides and waves...

s that separate the city from the harbor. The streets are only flooded for a short time, until the tide recedes. The water is usually only six to ten inches deep and a few merchants near the seawall put out small bridges to span the flooded streets for the benefit of pedestrians.

Neighborhoods

Paraty is divided into 12 neighborhoods. They are as follows:
  • Caboré
  • Centro Historico
  • Fátima
  • Ilha das Cobras
  • Jabaquara
  • Mangueira
  • Parque Imperial
  • Parque Ypê
  • Patitiba
  • Portal de Paraty
  • Saudade
  • Vila Colonial

Culture and Tourism

There are many musical and cultural events, the most prominent of which is the FLIP - Festa Literaria Internacional de Paraty (International Literary Festival of Paraty). The town is also known for its local festivals on Catholic holy dates, such as the Feast of the Holy Ghost.

The Casa da Cultura Paraty (House of Culture) occupies an historic 18th century house originally built in 1754 which opened to the public in 2004 and holds a permanent exhibition on local history and culture. In the Salon of Indigenous Culture, visitors can see the “carpets” made of colored sawdust and flower petals used during the festival of Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...

 in June. The largest is almost 92 square feet (8.5 m²). The “carpet” is protected by glass so that visitors walk on it as they enter.

Paraty played the part of the Bahian town of Ilhéus
Ilhéus
Ilhéus is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 430 km south of Salvador, the state's capital. The city was originally founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the most important tourism centers of the northeast of Brazil.The...

 in the 1983 Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto is a Brazilian film director born in Rio de Janeiro. He has been making feature-length films ever since he was seventeen years old and remains one of Brazil’s most accomplished and popular directors to this day...

 film Gabriela, Cravo e Canela
Gabriela, Cravo e Canela (film)
Gabriela, Cravo e Canela is a 1983 Brazilian romance film directed by Bruno Barreto.-Plot:Nacib is the owner of bar in a small town. He meets Gabriela , a sensual girl, who he is immediately attracted to. Taken by her, he hires her on as a cook. However, Nacib soon grows annoyed by the attention...

, starring Sônia Braga
Sônia Braga
Sônia Maria Campos Braga is a Brazilian actress. She has been nominated for both a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award.-Early life:...

 and Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross was an Italian film actor. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.- Personal life :...

.

Paraty was also the set for Isle Esme (the place of Edward and Bella's honeymoon) in the movie The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, commonly referred to as Breaking Dawn, is a 2011/2012 two-part romantic fantasy film directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The two parts form the fourth and final installment in the The Twilight Saga series...

.

Transportation

Paraty airport can be reached from Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 or São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 by chartered helicopter or small commercial and private aircraft because presently it has no scheduled flights.

Another possibility of transport is to arrive by sea by way of a sailboat or cruise ship from Rio de Janeiro, Angra dos Reis
Angra dos Reis
Angra dos Reis is a Brazilian municipality located in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro state. It is located at an altitude of 6 meters and includes in its territory 365 offshore islands. It was discovered on January 6, 1502, but has been under continual settlement since 1556. Its population...

 and Ilha Grande.

Paraty is connected by road to Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo (via road BR-101). Air-conditioned buses leave to go back and forth from Rio to Paraty and Paraty to Rio.

Distance from other Brazilian cities

  • Angra dos Reis
    Angra dos Reis
    Angra dos Reis is a Brazilian municipality located in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro state. It is located at an altitude of 6 meters and includes in its territory 365 offshore islands. It was discovered on January 6, 1502, but has been under continual settlement since 1556. Its population...

     - 95 km
  • Belo Horizonte
    Belo Horizonte
    Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...

     - 572 km
  • Caraguatatuba
    Caraguatatuba
    Caraguatatuba, widely known by its abbreviation Caraguá, is a city in the eastern part of the southern state of São Paulo in Brazil. The name comes from the Tupi language and one of the words includes tuba meaning many. Caraguatatuba is the largest city of São Paulo north shore.The economy of the...

     - 126 km
  • Rio de Janeiro
    Rio de Janeiro
    Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

     - 236 km
  • Sao Paulo
    São Paulo
    São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

     - 330 km
  • Ubatuba - 74 km

External links

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