Castelonovo

Castelonovo
Federal capital
Município e Capital Federal de Castelonovo Municipality and Federal Capital of Castelonovo
Following down left to right: financial centre; Bachelet Building; the city's cathedral; Museum of Arts of Castelonovo; Mascarenhas Palace and the Guararapes' Valley.
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  Terra de Oportunidades (Land of Opportunities); Selva de Pedra (Stone's Jungle)
Motto(s):  Semper invicta "Always undefeated"
Country	Belmonte
Province	Federal Capital
Foundation	19 May 1544
Boroughs	16 boroughs Centro República Jaraquara Ibará Bonfim Esperança Vila Galisteu Piratininga Jardins Vila Aurora Leopoldense Regina Guararapes Ó Punhais Cerejeira
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Body	Municipal Chamber
• Mayor	Júlio Passos
• Vice Mayor	Catarina Beltrão
Population  (2019)
• Total	3,724,976
Demonym	Castelan
Time zone	BCT
Area code	CST (11)

Castelonovo ([kɐstʃelɔnovo]), officially the Municipality and Federal Capital of Castelonovo (Lusitan: Município e Capital Federal de Castelonovo), is the capital and largest city of Belmonte. According to the last demographic census made in 2018, the general population of the city and its metropolitan area corresponds to 3,724,976 inhabitants.

Founded by bandeirantes in the 16th century, Castelonovo was located between several trade routes that transported goods to villages and markets, which made the small city become within a few years an important commercial centre to the colony. Also, the rough terrain was frequently used as a natural barrier against indigenous attacks, which was another decisive factor for the upcoming centralization and transference of various public services and institutions that were formerly situated in several coastal cities to there. Soon after the Belmontese independence, the city already was the most important of the entire country, but it only became the national capital and its own province after the establishment of the republic in 1819.

With the advent of the industrial revolution, the city had one of the largest growth rates in Belmonte, with several roads and railways being built and used to connect other major cities at the same time that thousands of farmers and former slaves came to work in the new factories. In the 20th century, Castelonovo was hit with another rural exodus and political and economical instabilities, being at the centre of protests, general strikes and battles. During the Great War, the city was invaded, bombed and occupied by Entente forces until being liberated by resistance troops in the Spring March. After the war, the city was undergone through various revitalization and modernization programs and expanded considerably.

Today, Castelonovo is one of the most important cities of the Asterias, since it is the political, administrative, financial and cultural centre of Belmonte where the majority of governmental institutions, banks, embassies, agencies and organizations are situated, with its name being used as a metonymy for the Federal Government as well. The city is also a cosmopolitan one, with several inhabitants coming from different regions and countries around the globe. Despite having one of the highest GDP and HDI of Belmonte, Castelonovo suffers from several social and urban problems such as high traffic, poverty, crime and pollution.

Etymology

The name Castelonovo comes from the junction of the words castelo and novo, which means “castle” and “new” respectively, therefore meaning a new castle. Before the arrival of colonists in the region, natives called the place as Guyraoga, “bird’s home”, name which was also used by the first bandeirantes that started to settle there in the 16th century. With the definitive foundation of the city, Castelonovo had its first name officialized as Castle of Saint Peter of Guyraoga and, after a fire years later, it has its name reduced to Castelonovo only.

History

Foundation and colonial era

Foundation of Castelonovo, by Inácio Leitão

Castelonovo was founded on 19 May 1544 by bandeirantes and jesuits from an expedition that started at the village of Pinheiros years before, with the group being led by the priests João Paes and Augusto Linhares, who built a church and the first buildings of the new settlement. Prior to the Lusitan arrival, the region was widely populated by Tupi tribes located next to the ground zero of the city who had maintained relatively positive relations with the settlers. Due to its rough terrain, the village was saved from various attacks from other tribes, which made possible the expansion of jesuit activities in the region such as the conversion of natives to Catholicism, however, in 1568, a big fire caused by uncertain reasons destroyed the entire village and killed the majority of its citizens.

Although being left abandoned for almost two years, the village was rebuilt thanks to jesuit efforts with a new convent as well to intensify conversion activities in the area, attracting neighbouring farmers and old dwellers. Also, yet in the 16th century, the city gained a strategical meaning since it started to be used as a base for other bandeirante expeditions, which contributed to its fast reconstruction and expansion in the following years.

At the end of the colonial period, the city drastically grew as trade routes maintained by tropeiros crossed the city, transporting goods, food and letters to other cities and villages from several captaincies. Another important factor which led to its fast growth in importance and relevance was its geographic localization at the centre of Belmonte as well as its natural defences, resulting in the transference of various institutions and public services to the city followed by the fixation of the local elites that previously lived in other places, consequently causing the construction of new infrastructure and upper-class buildings based around the Euclean architecture of the time. Over the 17th and 18th centuries, streets were expanded and most of the central zones were rebuilt to accommodate the new elite whilst many citizens moved to peripheral regions and built the first tenements.

As an important social and academic centre, Castelonovo was, among Guanabara and Riachuelo, the home for several philosophers and politicians present at the fight for the independence of Belmonte. In the Asterian War of Secession, the city was the stage of various mobilizations favourable to the independence and performed a relevant perfomance throughout the war, which increased its decree of importance in the national sphere.

Confederation and Republic

Despite being speculated to be the capital of Belmonte after the end of the conflict, the establishment of a confederation discarded this idea, with the new government led by Sebastião Mascarenhas opting a transferable capital instead of a fixed one. Anyway, Castelonovo still remained the most important city in the entire country.

With the proclamation of the republic, Castelonovo officially became the capital of Belmonte, which entailed the centralization of more services, the transference of public institutions and the migration of people coming from several parts of the country, resulting in a fast expansion within years. After the Belmontese Revolution in 1836 and the arrival of the industrial revolution, the city become the seat of the first factories, with thousands of former slaves from other cities and immigrants coming to work there, which led to the construction of the first railways in the 1850s as well as the creation of the first favelas.

At the beginning of the 20th century, however, the city couldn’t sustain anymore the huge influx of new inhabitants, leading to a huge increase in poverty and criminality, subsequently causing an expansion in the creation of favelas and making several newspapers such as Diário labelling Castelonovo as the “most decadent city of the Asterias.” The situation became worse after the Great Collapse, with protests and conflicts with the police happening on a daily basis. During the General Strike of 1916, thousands were imprisoned and several dead, resulting in violent protests for the next years. After a brief period of stability, the city suffered devastating attacks in the Great War and was occupied by Entente forces from Nuvania and Satucin until being liberated by the Belmontese Resistance in the Spring March.

Post-war era

After the war, Castelonovo was undergone an intense work of reconstruction, especially during the office of the mayors Adão Pires and Fabrício Rocha with the support of the federal government. Several boroughs were rebuilt, precarious zones were demolished and the first motorways were inaugurated in the 40s and 50s, with the city recovering its old number of inhabitants and growing exponentially. In 2020, the city already counted almost four million citizens and is considered to be the economic, political and social centre of Belmonte.

Geography

Castelonovo is the biggest city of Belmonte both in population and area, having 3,724,976 inhabitants within its urban perimeter at the same time that is the largest metropolitan region of the country thanks to an intense conurbation process that happened soon after the end of the Great War and intensified in the 50s, 60s and 70s, but rapidly decreased in the 90s and 2000s which also led to a decrease in the population growth rate as well.

The city’s terrain was always known for being very irregular, being at an average of 400 metres (1312,34 ft) above sea level in the Belmontese Highlands and having as its highest point the Mount Veras in the southern zone at 876 metres (2874,02 ft). Castelonovo is crossed by the Santa Maria River, which is also used as a source of hydric supply to the city. Since it’s located in a highland region, the city has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with dry winters and rainy summers. The hottest month is February while the coldest month is July, and the lowest temperature ever registered was -2,7 C° (27,14 F°) in the night of 18 June 1983, with the highest one being 38,1 C° (100,58 F°) on 23 January 2001.

Climate data for Castelonovo, Belmonte
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	30.3 (86.5)	29.9 (85.8)	29.8 (85.6)	29.5 (85.1)	29.4 (84.9)	28.7 (83.7)	27.5 (81.5)	27.6 (81.7)	28.9 (84.0)	29.1 (84.4)	29.5 (85.1)	29.7 (85.5)	30.3 (86.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	27.7 (81.9)	27.5 (81.5)	27.3 (81.1)	26.8 (80.2)	26.4 (79.5)	25.6 (78.1)	24.6 (76.3)	24.8 (76.6)	25.7 (78.3)	26.5 (79.7)	27.1 (80.8)	27.2 (81.0)	26.4 (79.5)
Average low °C (°F)	24.9 (76.8)	24.8 (76.6)	24.3 (75.7)	23.7 (74.7)	22.9 (73.2)	20.4 (68.7)	19.7 (67.5)	20.5 (68.9)	21.6 (70.9)	22.7 (72.9)	23.3 (73.9)	24.1 (75.4)	19.7 (67.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	293 (11.5)	278 (10.9)	211 (8.3)	184 (7.2)	131 (5.2)	98 (3.9)	76 (3.0)	83 (3.3)	107 (4.2)	134 (5.3)	196 (7.7)	237 (9.3)	2,028 (79.8)
Average precipitation days	19	18	18	13	12	10	07	11	12	13	17	18	168
Source: Belmontese Meteorological Service

Parks

Currently, there’s 47 parks and one reserve in Castelonovo, the majority of them created as an effort to contain pollution, with the largest one being the Ibipeba Park which was officially established in 1922 and became the city's postcard since then. Furthermore, in 1993, it was instituted by the government and the city hall a green belt around the metropolitan zone with the purpose of reducing the damage caused by the local fauna and flora. Other famous parks are the Galisteu, Apollo and Vandré Park and the Republic’s Square, located at the southern and central zones of the city, respectively.

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  Ibipeba Park

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  Republic's Square

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  Galisteu Park

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  Apollo Park

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  Vandré Park

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  Raposo Square

Government

Júlio Passos, Mayor of Castelonovo since 2016.

Due to its status as the federal capital, Castelonovo has its own legislation and institutions when compared to other national subdivisions in a unique condition present in Belmonte since, despite being categorized as a province, it has the same offices and roles of a common municipality. The city also has, like the majority of other towns, a Municipal Charter (Carta Municipal) under a mayor-council system that acts as a Carta Magna instead of a provincial constitution. It’s the responsibility of the city’s government to provide the creation and maintenance of public services such as healthcare, education, security, basic sanitation and transport together with private initiative and with the support of the federal government as well. Also, the local government maintains five municipal taxes and a series of state-owned companies and agencies that take care of other daily activities, being the most relevant ones the Municipal Transit Authority, the Municipal Public Maintenance Service and the Civil Guard.

The executive is formed by the Mayor (Prefeito), not a governor, which is in the majority of the cases the leader of the party with the biggest number of seats in the municipal chamber. Despite elections taking place every four years, the mayor could stay in the office indefinitely as long as it has parliamentary support. Since 2016, the current mayor of Castelonovo is Júlio Passos, from the Social Democratic Party, who has as its vice mayor Catarina Beltrão from the Socialist Bloc.

The legislative power is vested in the Municipal Chamber of Castelonovo (Câmara Municipal de Castelonovo), which is constituted of 50 councillors (vereadores) for a renewable term of 4 years. As the city’s legislature, it’s one of the responsibilities of the chamber to suggest, debate and approve laws and budgets. Currently, the Social Democratic Party and the Socialist Bloc comprises a coalition government with 19 and 16 councillors respectively, while the largest opposition party, the National Conservative Union, is the second largest bench of the house with 11 councillors. The judiciary power is made by the Justice Court of Castelonovo (Tribunal de Justiça de Castelonovo), which deals with both legal cases that are considered illegal by municipal legislation and criminal ones, while the city’s parquet is in charge of representing citizens in judicial proceedings.

Castelonovo is officially divided in 16 boroughs (bairros), which in turn are organized into five regions: North, South, East, West and Centre. The boroughs and its regions exert few practical political powers, being used only for organizational criteria and to the distribution of public expenditure.

Law enforcement

Law enforcement in Castelonovo is made by the city’s Civil Guard (Guarda Civil), that currently is composed of 26 thousand officers. Statistically, the city maintains one of the lowest criminality rates of Belmonte, with 2019 registering 13,8 homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants. However, when compared to other international parameters, the city still remains very violent, especially in suburban areas and favelas.

Economy

The Castelonovo Stock Exchange, one of the biggest in Asteria.

Castelonovo is a global city and the financial and economic centre of Belmonte, having the biggest GDP of the country and one of the biggest of Asteria Inferior. According to the last census realized by the Bank of Belmonte in 2019, around a quarter of the national Gross Domestic Product comes from the city’s economic activities, and has situated there the Castelonovo Stock Market, which is one of the biggest and most important stock markets of the region. The city also is the headquarters of several banks that are both domestic and foreign, multinational companies and monetary agencies that belongs to the municipal and federal government, with most of these institutions being situated at the city’s centre, more specifically at the Augusta Ave. Furthermore, Castelonovo is the city with the biggest number of millionaires and billionaires in Belmonte, and has one of the highest living rates of the country, being followed by Guanabara, Riachuelo and Julianópolis, respectively.

Since the start of the industrial revolution, Castelonovo was the home of the first factories in the 1840s and 1850s, where the majority of them were focused on the production of alimentary goods that had its raw material coming from the local agriculture. With the increase of manpower and consequently of the city, industries started to diversify their productions yet at the end of the 19th century, when they started to produce more varied goods such as clothes and other products. In the 1900s, a few years before the start of the economic decadence caused by the Great Collapse, the city was the most industrialized of Belmonte, having thousands of new workers and factories every year. With the economic crisis, industrial development started to decrease drastically until being almost completely gone during the Entente occupation of the city in the Great War. After the Spring March, the city’s economy was rebuilt around the tertiary field, with popular commerce as well as retail and the financial sector becoming the most predominant economic activities.

Besides the commercial and banking sector, the tourism also is one of the biggest economic activities of the capital, with millions of tourists around the world, the majority of them coming from countries such as Nuvania, Satucin, Halland and Vilcasuamanas, generating billions of cruzados in profit while visiting museums, galleries, exhibitions, theatres, markets, cinemas and other touristic points and events of the city. Castelonovo also has an intense nightlife, comprised of various pubs and restaurants which are majoritarily located in the boroughs of Regina and Guararapes.

Despite being considered to be the centre of a major part of the national wealth, Castelonovo also suffers from high rates of poverty and extreme poverty, that has been growing in the past 15 years even with high efforts from the government to contain it. According to information released by the own local government, around 24% of the city’s population lives below the poverty line, while 6% of inhabitants live with less than ₡10,00 per day. Because of that, the city has 234 favelas that are inhabited by almost a third of the population.

The city's skyline.

Transport

The Castelonovo Metropolitan, the largest metropolitan service of Belmonte.

A bus terminal.