The city

Florianópolis is surrounded by more than 42 beaches and boasts exotic nature, a welcoming people and, moreover, one of the best structures to receive its visitors. It is impossible not to compare it to paradise.
After knowing the beauties of the Santa Catarina Island many are not happy with spending only a period of time here. That is why an increasing number of people are choosing to live in the capital offering the highest quality of life in the country. For beach enthusiasts who also want a quiet life without giving up major capitals’ facilities, Florianópolis is the perfect place to be. It has everything major cities offer, without losing the charm of a small town.
The Isle has great interaction between human occupation and its environmental preservation. Harmony and biodiversity conservation in the surroundings of an urban centre are among the privileges enjoyed by the region, a capital city that is located in an island and preserves its ecosystems. Currently there are over 20 environmental preservation unities in the city’s jurisdiction, as well as nine parks, covering 42% of its surface.
With time, the city has modernized. It has created an infrastructure capable of receiving all; its economy has grown and new business opportunities came about, ensuring Florianópolis’ place in the circuit of main events in Brazil and the world.
It has become cosmopolitan, albeit without losing its identity. The stamps imposed by settlers from the Azores are still present in the city’s day-to-day life. With their fast way of talking, ‘Manezinhos’ (as those born in the Island are known) walk along the narrow streets in the city center and the Public Market, and preserve their habits and festivities, inherited from the Portuguese settlers.

This is the Island of Magic, with its contrasts between new and old, cosmopolitan and provincial, urban and rural, highlighting the best of each of them. Charming all its visitors, Florianópolis is the perfect place to work, invest, have fun and live.

OUR HISTORY

One of Florianópolis’ concerns is the preservation of its history. This is shown by its archaeological sites – records left by our ancestors, with rock inscriptions, stone polishing sites and prehistoric objects. Such sites can be found in different parts of the Island, and access to them for tourism purposes is easy. The city’s almost 300 years can still be experienced today. The first Portuguese settlers to dock in Desterro, as the Santa Catarina Island was then called, started to arrive in 1748. The immigrants shaped the city in their own image; with hard work and their simple personalities, they rebuilt their lives and built the city. Some traces of those times can be seen in dozens of buildings, including forts, churches, monuments, old houses and other buildings. A brief walk along the central streets is enough to identify the influence of the settlers from the Azores. In the interior of the Island, history is present in the regions where the first parishes were established. The melodic speech and typical expressions that characterize local people, the handicraft works such as bone lace and baskets, as well as, of course, the typical seafood-based dishes all charm visitors. More than the accent, architecture, handicraft and cuisine, local culture is kept alive by the traditions preserved along all those years, such as the religiosity of the Festa do Divino (Holy Spirit Festival), and other festivals such as Ternos-de-Reis, Boi-de-Mamão, Pau-de-Fita, as well as witches and ghosts legends.
Proud of their history and their people, those who build the future today maintain their past alive.

ENTERTAINMENT AND GASTRONOMY

Although small, Florianópolis has a very large number of attractions. Be it in the enjoyment of nature or the urban center, the city offers entertainment to all.
The fact that the environment is preserved makes a great number of options possible. Known for its more than 42 beaches, the Santa Catarina Island is perfect for nautical sports, especially surfing, and offers maritime tours, scuba-diving, beautiful dunes and tracks for ecological walks. For adventure enthusiasts, the region, with is extraordinary biodiversity, is the perfect site for radical sports that can be enjoyed on land, in the water and in the air.
Outside the natural circuit, an excellent structure ensures fun in the urban area. The city also boasts parks, shopping malls, movie-theaters, theaters, and museums, excellent venues for a happy-hour and concerts, as well as nightclubs. Restaurants offer a great variety of food, highlighting the local cuisine.
Simple and tasty, Florianópolis’ typical gastronomy is the result of a combination of the native and Portuguese cuisines. Its core elements are fish and shrimp, as well as – it could not be otherwise – cassava flour, which settlers from the Azores inherited from the native Tupi-Guarani people. Oysters, another Florianópolis gastronomic highlight, are grown locally in the Island, as the region is responsible for 70% of the Brazilian oyster production. The “sequência de camarão” (“shrimp sequence”, made up of a series of shrimp dishes) is the single dish our visitors never miss.
The use of generous dollops of herbs and vinegar, and the mix of savory and sweet give the local cuisine a unique and delicious flavor.

Beach and Nature

Santa Catarina is a naturally beautiful state. There are numerous attractions, both on the coast and in the interior of the state. Santa Catarina’s beaches are known as the most beautiful in the Southern region of Brazil. There are also lakes, dunes, waterfalls, cascades, valleys, rivers and the preserved forests of the Atlantic Rainforest. Choose your itinerary, pack your bags and have a good trip.

More information:

http://floripaconvention.com.br/
http://turismo.sc.gov.br/

The Venue