The City of Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital city of the state Parana which is considered the beginning of Southern Brazil. It is known internationally as an urban model of innovative planning for mass transportation, environmental care and social programs. Curitiba is referred to as “The Ecological Capital” of Brazil! Curitiba’s ethnic makeup began with native Indians later the Portuguese colonizers and then a massive immigration that today is comprised mostly of Italian, Polish, German, Ukrainian, and Japanese descendants. The result today is a well planned and organized city of about 2 million inhabitants with a European influence. Curitiba is a modern and perfect city to host some of the 2014 World Cup games.
A Remodeled Joaquim Americo Stadium
Presently there are three Professional football Clubs in Curitiba. The Coritiba Club whose nickname is Coxa plays in their stadium which is called the Couto Pereira. A second club is the Atletico Paranaense. They are called the Hurricane and own the Joaquim Americo stadium commonly called Arena da Baixada. They were the National champions in 2001. A third team is the Parana Club which owns the Durival de Britto e Silva stadium which was also a host for the 1950 World Cup.
I remember when the Arena da Baixada stadium was remodeled in 1999 and today is one of the best stadiums in Brazil and was chosen as one of the sites of the 2014 World Cup. I used to live on the 16th floor of an apartment building maybe 15 blocks from the stadium. You could see it from my balcony. It was exciting on game day to hear the fans chanting and cheering for their team. The stadium used to rock!
The stadium will undergo some renovations to add more seats and increase its capacity to 40,000 fans as they host four of the World Cup games in June.
Some Sights to See
Curitiba is a popular tourist city. Here are just a few examples to peak your interest.
• Rua das Flores: Or the “Street of Flowers”” is a cobble stone walking street right in the heart of the city. Tour around downtown and enjoy the town squares, churches, stores, museums and bakeries.
• Beautiful Parks: Curitiba has many large parks. Barigui is beautiful to visit and walk around the lake. A couple newer parks worth visiting are Tingui and Tangua.
• Torre das Merces: The “Merces Tower “ is about 40 stories high with an amazing panoramic view of the city.
• Immigrant Memorials: Multiple memorial sites around the city commemorating the many different immigrants who settled in Curitiba.
• Santa Felicidade: “Holy Happiness” is an Italian sector of the city known for all you can eat Italian restaurants and also has some great tourist stores.
There is much more to see in this beautiful city! I lived there for 10 years and I love Curitiba! What a great host Curitiba will be and you will be glad you made it one of your host cities to visit while in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup!
Here is a great video about Curitiba!
Brought to you by: World Cup Brazil 2014
