Colonized in the 16th century, Espírito Santo became an armed region to prevent gold from being smuggled out of Minas. In the 1800s, Germans and Italians settled in the hills of the interior. Until the 1960s, coffee plantations were the prime source of income, but coffee has been superseded by heavy industry.
Vitória, capital of the state of Espírito Santo, is 521 km from Rio de Janeiro and 602 km from Porto Seguro. Founded in 1551, Vitória is a port city, connected by rail with Minas Gerais. Large amounts of export coffee and timber pass through here, and the port at nearby Tubarão is the outlet for millions of tons of iron ore.
An Island with lots of sun, lots of beaches & lots of green!
