South Region

Covering 577,214 km2, this is the region with the least area, occupying just 6.75% of the Brazilian territory. Formed by the states of Paraná, santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, it has a sub-tropical climate, except in the northern region of the state of Paraná, where a tropical climate predominates. It is characterized by experiencing a range of temperatures in the different areas it comprises.

The regions with the highest plateaux have low temperatures and occasional snow showers, whilst the plains of the Pampas, further south, enjoy higher temperatures. The vegetation also changes according to this temperature variation and in the coldest places there is a predominance of pine forest whilst on the Pampas there are grassy fields. There is also major hydroelectric potential in this region with particular reference to the station at Itaipu, on the River Paraná, on the border with Paraguay.

The population consists of 23,516,730 inhabitants, representing 14.95% of the population of Brazil, with an average life expectancy of 68.68 years which is the highest in the country. The demographic density is 40.74 inhabitants per km2 and 74.1% of the population lives in urban areas. The region retains clear evidence of the influence exerted by German, Italian and Azorean immigration.

Initially based on cattle-rearing, the economy of the South has developed a significant industrial base over recent decades, with industries established in the cities of Porto Alegre, capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná. Agricultural production makes use of modern cultivation techniques, in particular for wheat, soya, rice, maize, beans and tobacco which are some of the main crops marketed. In terms of cattle-breeding there are herds of European breeds such as Hereford and Charolais.

Pig-breeding is carried on in the west of the state of Santa Catarina and in the state of Paraná. In the latter, timber extraction is also widely practiced. The state of Santa Catarina contains coal reserves and meat-processing industries which produce not only for the domestic market but also for export.

Missões

Soon after the early stages of the conquest of South America, the governments of Spain and Portugal originated the missionary project, whereby religious orders had the task of furthering the development and integration of indigenous peoples. In the sixteenth century, conflicts arose between Portuguese colonisers and the Jesuit missions established between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. Often violent, these conflicts led to a move of the missions to the Tape region on the left bank of the Uruguay river, in what is now the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the years following the end of the seventeenth century.

The “Theocratic State of the Jesuits”, embracing 30 tribes, was granted a charter by the Spanish crown and was governed by its own rules of justice, administration and relations with neighbouring peoples. The settlements, seven of which are today situated in Brazil, eight in Paraguay and fifteen in Argentina, had an autonomous system of territorial organization and strict principles for urban development on a linear pattern. Architecture reached a golden phase in its development between 1735 and 1750, when Spain and Portugal defined new territorial boundaries for their colonies in the Treaty of Madrid. After this period, the missionary project entered into a long decline.

The central rectangular square of a settlement contained the church, the college of the Jesuit fathers and various outbuildings on one side, and the houses of the Indian families on the other. The houses, built in rows, had large verandas. The buildings were constructed largely of stone and wood, and have not resisted the attacks of time and periodic fires. A large part of the architectural heritage of the missions has been lost, but important archaeological sites remain today, including the foundations and massive sections of gritstone masonry, and a rich store of objects and utensils.

Listed by Unesco as a World Heritage Site, the ruins of the mother church of São Miguel are the main symbol in Brazil of the missionary civilisation. Designed by the Jesuit priest and architect João Batista Promoli, the church is an example of the baroque architecture of the missionaries, inspired by Renaissance rules established by Vignola for the Gesu church in Rome. The largest piece of religious architecture in the Jesuit settlements, it still possesses the remains of walls, partitions, vaults, facade and bell tower, and, as an important world heritage site, has been preserved and restored by the Ministry of Culture. Next to it is the Museum of Missões, where objects of art and architecture are on display and there is a reconstruction of the settlement and the Indian houses by the architect Lucio Costa.