Etymology

The name Florianópolis was meant to be a tribute to Marshal Floriano Peixoto, the second President (1891–1894) of the Republic of the United States of Brazil and from Greek term πόλις (polis, meaning "city"). Until 1893, the city was called Nossa Senhora do Desterro (Our Lady of Banishment) or simply "Desterro".

Geography

Florianópolis Climate chart (explanation) J F M A M J J A S O N D     176   28 21     197   28 21     186   27 20     96   25 18     96   23 15     75   20 13     94   20 13     92   20 14     126   21 15     116   22 16     98   24 18     146   26 20 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: MSN Weather Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     6.9   82 70     7.8   82 70     7.3   81 68     3.8   77 64     3.8   73 59     3   68 55     3.7   68 55     3.6   68 57     5   70 59     4.6   72 61     3.9   75 64     5.7   79 68 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Climate

Florianópolis experiences a warm humid subtropical climate, falling just short of a true tropical climate. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather for autumn and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in the winter. Due to the proximity of the sea, the relative humidity of the atmosphere is 80% on average.

The maximum temperatures of the hottest month varies from 25 °C (77 °F) to 40 °C (104 °F) and the minimum temperatures are from 6 °C (43 °F) to 11 °C (52 °F). The lowest temperature ever recorded was −2 °C (28 °F), in 1975.

Precipitation

There is significant precipitation which is well distributed throughout the year. The annual normal precipitation for the period of 1911 through 1984 was 1,521 millimetres (59.9 in). There is no dry season, and summer generally is the rainiest season. Increased rainfall occurs from January to March, with a median of 160 millimetres (6.3 in) per month, and from April to December there is somewhat less precipitation, averaging 100 millimetres (3.9 in) per month. The driest months are from June to August.

Vegetation

Florianópolis has a native Atlantic Forest-type vegetation. This vegetation has an extremely diverse and unique mix of vegetation and forest types. The main ecoregion is the coastal Atlantic forest, the narrow strip of about 50–100 kilometers (31–62 miles) along the coast which covers about 20 percent of the region. This forests extend as far as 500–600 kilometers (310–372 miles) inland and its range is as high as 2,000 meters above sea level. Altitude determines at least three vegetation types in the Atlantic Forest: the lowland forest of the coastal plain, montane forests, and the high-altitude grassland or "campo rupestre".

Climate data for Florianópolis Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 38.3 (100.9) 38.9 (102) 33.1 (91.6) 31.8 (89.2) 30.7 (87.3) 30 (86) 31.8 (89.2) 31.2 (88.2) 28.8 (83.8) 30 (86) 32.1 (89.8) 35.7 (96.3) 38.9 (102) Average high °C (°F) 28 (82) 28.4 (83.1) 27.5 (81.5) 25.4 (77.7) 23 (73) 20.9 (69.6) 20.4 (68.7) 20.7 (69.3) 21.2 (70.2) 22.9 (73.2) 24.8 (76.6) 26.6 (79.9) 24.15 (75.4) Daily mean °C (°F) 24.9 (76.8) 25.1 (77.2) 24.1 (75.4) 21.8 (71.2) 19.3 (66.7) 17.1 (62.8) 16.8 (62.2) 16.0 (60.8) 17.3 (63.1) 19.9 (67.8) 21.7 (71.1) 23.4 (74.1) 20.62 (69.1) Average low °C (°F) 21.4 (70.5) 21.8 (71.2) 20.7 (69.3) 18.3 (64.9) 15.6 (60.1) 13.4 (56.1) 13.3 (55.9) 14 (57) 15.1 (59.2) 16.9 (62.4) 18.6 (65.5) 20.3 (68.5) 17.45 (63.38) Record low °C (°F) 14.7 (58.5) 15.6 (60.1) 10.1 (50.2) 7.8 (46) 5.2 (41.4) 2 (36) 1.5 (34.7) 3.9 (39) 0.7 (33.3) 9 (48) 9.5 (49.1) 12.5 (54.5) 0.7 (33.3) Precipitation mm (inches) 176.2 (6.937) 197.7 (7.783) 186.3 (7.335) 96.6 (3.803) 96.9 (3.815) 75.2 (2.961) 94.6 (3.724) 92.5 (3.642) 126.8 (4.992) 126 (4.96) 129.1 (5.083) 146.2 (5.756) 1,544.1 (60.791) Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 15 15 15 10 10 9 9 9 12 13 12 15 144 Source #1: World Meteorological Organization., Hong Kong Observatory (sun only 1961-1990) Source #2: BBC Weather (record highs, lows, and humidity)

History

The city in 1847. São José fortress. Colonial house. Historic Center of Florianópolis.

Carijós Indians, a Tupi people, were the first inhabitants of Florianópolis area. The traces of its presence are verified through archaeological sites and sambaquis dating up to 4000 years ago. The Indians called the place Meiembipe or "mountain along the channel".

Around 1514 the Portuguese landed and gave the area the name Ilha dos Patos, but in 1526 it was renamed Ilha de Santa Catarina (Santa Catarina Island). The area supplied the vessels that went to Bacia da Prata.

The official settlement of the island began in 1673 with the arrival of bandeirante Francisco Dias Velho's agricultural company and it continued in 1678 with the construction of a chapel consecrated to Nossa Senhora do Desterro. At this time a villa began to take form, slowly becoming a colonial settlement.

To guarantee its domain the Portuguese Crown elevated Santa Catarina Island to the category of village in 1714 with the name of Nossa Senhora do Desterro and already in 1726 they promoted it again, now to the category of town.

From this date on Vila do Desterro and mainly the port began to have a strategic function because it was situated halfway between Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, possibly two of the largest seaside cities of South America at that time. For this reason in 1739 the Capitania da Ilha de Santa Catarina was created and Desterro became its capital. Soon the most expressive seaside defensive ring of Southern Brazil started to be built: Santa Cruz, São José da Ponta Grossa, Santo Antonio and Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Barra do Sul fortresses.

With the coming of the Captaincy the population began to grow, but the great population growth happened between 1747 and 1756 with the arrival of about 6,000 settlers coming from the Archipelago of Azores and from Madeira Island. The development of the agriculture, the cotton and linen industry and the commerce followed the Azorean occupation. In 1823, still in the monarchic period, Desterro became the Capital of Santa Catarina Province opening a prosperity period with many urban works and also with an intense political organization.

Regional elites not happy with the government centralization deflagrated Revolta Federalista (Federalist Revolt) at the beginning of the Brazilian Republic. The movement that started in Rio Grande do Sul spread to Santa Catarina and turned Desterro into the Federalist Capital of the Republic. The then president of Brazil, Marechal Floriano Peixoto, known as Iron Marshal, contained the rebellion and ordered the shooting of many people who were considered enemies of the state, in the Anhatomirim Island Fortress. Possibly to show loyalty to the marshal, 1893 saw the change of the state capital's name: from Desterro to Florianópolis, that is to say, city of Floriano.

Demographics

Beira Mar Avenue in Florianopolis.

According to the IBGE of 2007, there were 406,564 people residing in the city (in 2010 IBGE reports a population of 421,203). The population density was 928 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,400 /sq mi). The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 366,000 White people (90.0%), 37,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (9.0%), 4,000 Black people (1.0%), 400 Asian or Amerindian people (0.1%).

Florianópolis has a population mostly composed of Brazilians of European descent. Its mass colonization started in the mid-18th century, mostly with the arrival of Portuguese colonists from the Azores Islands. Florianópolis was thus composed mainly of Portuguese/Azoreans, Germans, and Italians. Further south, some neighborhoods also preserve their rural village identity, and the heritage left by their Azorean ancestors is noticeable in their manner of speaking, in their handicraft activities, and traditional festivities.

The small village of Santo António de Lisboa (Saint Anthony of Lisbon) is an example of architecture of that period and in Ribeirão da Ilha, the oldest part of the capital, the inhabitants still speak the Azorean dialect which is difficult to understand at first. In Ribeirão da Ilha is the church of Our Lady of Lapa do Ribeirão, built in 1806. Lagoa da Conceição, with its many sand dunes, restaurants and seaside night life and where women make lace to sell in the street, has also managed to retain many traces of its colonial architecture.

On the other side, the city has taken on a cosmopolitan air with the arrival of Brazilians from other states and foreigners who chose to live there. The island, which at the beginning of the colonization period, was an important whale hunting centre, is today a technological pole of the IT industry. A State Capital of interest to tourism, Florianópolis is currently inhabited by about 400,000 people, a number that triples every summer. The metro area has about 980,000 people.

Economy

View of Hercílio Luz Bridge in Florianópolis. Beach in Florianópolis. South bay in the city. Joaquina Beach.

According to 2002 Sefaz statistics, agricultural activities represented 0.05%, manufacturing represented 3.41% and the sector of the commerce and service 96.54%.

Tourism is one of the staples of Florianópolis' economy. Many inhabitants and tourists consider Floripa to have a singular beauty endowed with strong lines of Azorean culture, observed in the buildings, workmanship, folklore, culinary and religious traditions. Its environmental restrictions on building and commercial development have been more or less strictly enforced, helping it to keep its original character.

Between 1970 and 2004, Florianópolis's population tripled, as did the number of shantytowns. But the local economy grew fivefold, and incomes grew in step. Opportunity seekers, urban and rural, white collar and blue, poured in. While many Brazilian cities are struggling to graduate from smokestacks to services, Florianópolis is succeeding. Thanks in part to a federal rule that for decades barred heavy industry on the island, town elders focused on cleaner public works which led to the founding of several public and private universities that make this one of the most scholarly cities in Brazil.

To meet the demands of its academic crowd, the city invested heavily in everything from roads to schools, and now Florianópolis ranks high on every development measure, from literacy (97 percent) to electrification (near 100 percent). By the late 1990s, private companies were flocking to the island, or emerging from a technology "incubator" at the federal university. (Among the innovations it hatched: the computerized voting machines that have made Brazilian elections fraud-free and efficient). Local officials now say their aim is to be the Silicon Valley of Brazil, with beaches.

In addition to its white sand beaches, Florianópolis offers many historical attractions, including the sites of the original Azorean colonists, the Lagoa da Conceição lagoon, and Santo Antônio de Lisboa. Tourism in Florianópolis has grown significantly over the past 10 years, with increasing numbers of visitors coming from other large cities in Brazil (particularly Porto Alegre, Curitiba, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) as well as other South American countries (particularly Argentina, with direct flights offered daily from Buenos Aires).

During the past several years, a greater number of international tourists have also begun to frequent the island (particularly from Europe and the United States). As the number of visitors grows each year, Florianopolis faces the ongoing challenge of ensuring that its limited infrastructure and resources are updated to adequately accommodate them. Of particular concern are the sewers, which often drain directly into the ocean, polluting the very beaches that attract so many visitors.

During the past decade technology and software development firms also experienced strong growth, and today Information Technology services are one of the top revenue generators in Florianópolis. Several technology centers are spread around Florianópolis, making the city an important pole in this economic sector.

The GDP for the city was R$ 6,259,393,000 (2005).

The per capita income for the city was R$ 15,776 (2005).

Education

Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianópolis. Educational institutions Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC); Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC); Complexo de Ensino Superior de Santa Catarina (CESUSC); Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (UNISUL); Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (UNIVALI); Faculdade Estácio de Sá; Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina(IFSC); and many others. Primary and secondary schools

The Florianópolis high schools that obtained the best results on the 2007 Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (National High School Exam) are Escola Autonomia, Colégio da Lagoa, Colégio Energia, Colégio Tendência, Colégio Expoente, Colégio Adventista de Florianópolis, Colégio Geração, Colégio de Aplicação UFSC, EEB Feliciano Nunes Pires, IFSC, Colégio Decisão, EEB Professor AníbalNunes Pires, Instituto Estadual de Educação, EEB Osmar Cunha, EEb Getúlio Vargas, EEB Presidente Roosevelt, EEB Professor Henrique Stodieck.

Tourism and recreation

Beachfront Castaway. Lagoa do Peri Hercilio Luz Bridge Beira-Mar avenue Palace Cruz and Sousa

The island is connected to the Continent by three bridges. The Hercílio Luz Bridge was built over 70 years ago and is now closed to traffic; it is a symbol of the island and often appears on postcard images. The Colombo Sales Bridge and Pedro Ivo Bridge are the ones open to traffic.

Santo Amaro da Imperatriz was the first thermal water facility in Brazil. Hotels with thermal bath facilities are located in the district of Caldas da Imperatriz and in the city of Águas Mornas. The Fonte Caldas da Imperatriz city baths are an additional source of thermal waters, which can reach the temperature of 39 °C (102 °F), where there are immersion baths and hydromassage. It is located on the Estrada Geral Highway, km 4, Caldas da Imperatriz district.

Florianópolis is one of the locations for the ASP World Tour of the Association of Surfing Professionals, which classifies 50 competitors, among professionals and amateurs. The state of Santa Caterina is the only location in South America for this surfing event.

Santa Catarina Art Museum is located in the city.

The Holy Spirit Feast (Festa do Divino) is a festival that takes place 40 days after Easter. The celebration dates to the colonial era and includes a parade, music, and street food.

One of the most famous beaches is Praia Mole, noted for its rolling green hills and rock formations on either side.

Barra da Lagoa This is the world famous "Bunny Slope" of Surfing. It is home to world champion Jacqueline Silva and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Praia Mole which usually hosts the WCT Surfing Championships. Barra da Lagoa is a quaint fisherman's village but the physical characteristics of the beach make it the perfect place to learn to surf. It is a cove on the Eastern part of the island and stretches into Moçambique beach for 15 kilometres (9.3 mi). It is in a natural setting as there are no huge hotels on the beach and the Southern headquarters of Projeto TAMAR (Save the Turtles) is located here. Penguins routinely swim into the canal and near the beach of Barra da Lagoa during the colder winter months of June, July and August. The canal at Barra da Lagoa connects the Lagoa da Conceição with the open sea. It is not uncommon to view pescadores (fishermen) during the night tossing their nets in the lagoa to catch shrimp they sell to the fresh fish restaurants in this community.

Ingleses Beach (Praia dos Ingleses) Even though it is a beach preferred by tourists, Ingleses still keeps to the traditions of the Azorian colonizers. In the summer, it is one of the top beach destinations of Argentine tourists, second only to Canasvieras. In the winter, mullet fishing, religious celebrations and regional festivities are beautiful demonstrations of the local culture. The dunes separating the Ingleses Beach (English Beach) from the Santinho Beach are natural attractions not to be missed. The practice of sand board is quite common there, a sport created in Florianópolis, which consists of sliding down the dunes on a board, engaging or not in radical manoeuvres. To practice it, one must have a lot of balance and rent a board. Those looking for a different outing can go on a trek of 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) over the dunes.

Armação Beach (Praia da Armação) The Sant'Anna Church, built by the Armação fishing company, is part of the beach's history. It was from there that whale harpooners and crewmen confessed and attended the mass before going fishing. Next, the priest would go down to the beach to bless the boats that would sail out to sea. Today, the boats leave there for Ilha do Campeche, one of the most visited islands around Florianópolis. It is also in Armação that one finds one of the most important archaeological sites of the State of Santa Catarina. In the winter of 2010 a significant portion of the beach disappeared due to erosion. With financial aid from the Brazilian federal government, tons of large rocks were dumped on the beach to prevent houses from destruction.

Campeche Beach (Praia do Campeche) With 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of white sands and a turbulent waters, Campeche is considered the Jeffreys Bay of the Santa Catarina Island for the quality of its waves. For those who are not interested in surfing, the beach offers other attractions. The paradisaical beauty of Ilha do Campeche, for instance, located across from the beach, a football game on the Saint-Exupéry aviation field, or even fishing, are some of the leisure alternatives. At night, Campeche is also an excellent attraction. The huge reflector that illuminates part of the large sand strip in front of the bars only contributes to the partying that extends far into the night. The illumination favours both those who enjoy the merrymaking as well as the fishermen, who use the time to drag their nets in from the sea.

Joaquina Beach (Praia da Joaquina) Won fame as of the 1970s, when surfers from around the world discovered its waves. Many surf cups began to emerge, and great Catarinense surfing personalities. It is one of the beaches that offers the best tourist facilities, receiving a large number of tourists from around Brazil and the world on the warm days in spring and summer. The rock complex situated to the left of the beach, the night lighting and the public showers are some of the trademarks at Joaquina. There is a big paid parking lot, toilets, tourist coach parking lot, lifeguards, police station, handicraft shop, bars, restaurant and hotels. In addition to the beach, it is possible to enjoy the most famous dunes in the South of the country as well as to sand board. The boards used in this sport can be rented on the spot.

Santinho Beach (Praia do Santinho) is mainly sought by tourists who look for nature, the location's paradisaical beauty and tranquillity. Surfers are the main visitors and consider Santinho to be the best beach in the North of the Santa Catarina Island. It is in the left hand corner, where bathers do not venture, that surfers practice their sport, sharing the space with fishermen. 40 kilometres (25 mi) away from the centre of Florianópolis, another great attraction of this beach are the primitive inscriptions made by hunters, fishermen and collectors inhabiting the Island five thousand years ago. The name Santinho comes from a human figure engraved on an isolated block of rock.

Outdoor sports, including diving, hang gliding, rowing, paragliding, and mountain biking, as well as surfing, are popular on the island

Panoramic view of the lagoon of Conceição.