Гарибальди: История и виноделие бразильского города итальянских колонистов

Municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Garibaldi is a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. It has a population of 35,440 people, most of them of Italian descent The city is famous for its wine and sparkling wine productions. The name Garibaldi is a homage to the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Brazilian wife, Anita Garibaldi. It was settled by Italian immigrants, predominantly Venetians and Prussians in the late 19th century.

In 1870, chairman Dr. João Sertório created the colony of Conde d'Eu, in honor of the emperor's son in law, who married Princess Isabel. The two colonies had 32 square leagues of land. The region did not attract much interest, because its lands were rugged. An infrastructure investment was necessary to attract settlers, but as the government was not willing to make such an investment, the settlement sought other resources to make the land habitable and arable. The government decided to populate the region with European immigrants. The settlement of Colony Conde d'Eu occurred at the end of the imperial stage. The first immigrants arrived on July 9, 1870, and they were all Prussians (Germans). At the same period, some Amerindian families, or "Bugres" as they were commonly identified, also settled there. During this period of settlement, the Germans lived on subsistence agriculture. At that time, the only existing road, which was in terrible condition, connected Conde D'Eu to Montenegro through Maratá. Using this road, some Swiss, Italian, French, Austrian and Polish immigrants arrived in 1874 and 1875.

The largest number of immigrants came from Italy. The Colony Conde d'Eu was the first nucleus of colonization in mountain region of Rio Grande do Sul. The population of the colony, which in 1875 was of only 720 inhabitants, reached 870 persons in 1876. From 1890, when the colony was established, the houses and buildings that today form the Historical Center were built. On October 31, 1900, the government raised the Colony Conde d'Eu to a municipality, which then became Garibaldi. Today, almost all the inhabitants of the city are descended from immigrants .

When the Italian immigrants came to Garibaldi they brought vineyards. Over time, wine production became very important to the regional economy. More recently, sparkling wine also started to be produced there, and the town is now the main producer of the beverage in Brazil.