Founded
in 1693 as a
gold-mining
camp,
CURITIBA
was of
little
importance
until 1853
when it was
made capital
of Paraná.
Since then,
the city's
population
has steadily
risen from a
few thousand,
reaching
140,000 in
1940 and
some 1.5
million
today. It's
said that
Curitiba is
barely a
Brazilian
city at all,
a view that
has some
basis. The
inhabitants
are
descendants
of Polish,
German,
Italian and
other
immigrants
who settled
in Curitiba
and in
surrounding
villages
that have
since been
engulfed by
the
expanding
metropolis.
On average,
Curitibanos
enjoy
Brazil's
highest
standard of
living: the
city boasts
health,
education
and public
transport
facilities
that are the
envy of
other parts
of the
country.
There are
favelas,
but they're
well hidden
and, because
of the cool,
damp winters,
sturdier
than those
in cities to
the north.
The wooden
houses of
Curitiba's
lower and
middle
classes
often
resemble
those of
frontier
homesteads
and
frequently
betray their
inhabitants'
Central or
Eastern
European
origins,
with half-hip
roofs,
carved
window
frames and
elaborate
trelliswork.
As elsewhere
in Brazil,
the rich
live in
mansions and
luxury
condominiums,
but even
these are a
little less
ostentatious,
and need
fewer
security
precautions,
than usual.
Many
nineteenth-
and early
twentieth-century
buildings
have been
saved from
the
developers
who, since
the 1960s,
have ravaged
most
Brazilian
cities, and
there's a
clearly
defined
historic
quarter
where
colonial
buildings
have been
preserved.
Much of the
centre is
closed to
traffic and,
in a country
where the
car has
become a
symbol of
development,
planners
from all
over Brazil
and beyond
descend on
Curitiba to
discover how
a city can
function
effectively
when
pedestrians
and buses
are given
priority.
Thanks in
part to the
relative
lack of
traffic,
it's a
pleasure
just
strolling
around and,
what's more,
you can
wander
around the
city, day or
night, in
safety.
One
result of
its being so
untypical of
Brazil is
that few
visitors
bother to
remain in
Curitiba
longer than
it takes to
change buses
or planes.
At most,
they stay
for a night,
prior to
taking the
early
morning
train to the
coast. But
it deserves
more than
this:
although
there's some
truth in the
image of
northern
European
dullness,
Curitiba's
attractive
buildings,
interesting
museums and
variety of
restaurants
make a stay
here
pleasant -
if not over
- exciting
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One result of its being so untypical of Brazil is that few visitors bother to remain in Curitiba longer than it takes to change buses or planes. At most, they stay for a night, prior to taking the early morning train to the coast. But it deserves more than this: although there's some truth in the image of northern European dullness, Curitiba's attractive buildings, interesting museums and variety of restaurants make a stay here pleasant - if not over - exciting
The City
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Being comparatively compact, much of Curitiba is best explored on foot and, apart from the museums - many of which are located in the central commercial district - most interest is concentrated in the historic centre, around the Largo da Ordem. The main commercial district, with Rua das Flores (part of Avenida XV de Novembro) at its heart, is only a couple of blocks south of the historic quarter.
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