HISTORY OF ITAJUBA Historical remains of the past In the race to explore precious stones in Minas Gerais, the mines of Nossa Senhora da Soledade do Itagybá were discovered, where the city of Delfim Moreira was built, where the history of the current city of Itajubá began . An appetite for gold and stones that would lead to the formation of towns in the southern region of our state. Among the brave and bold settlers was Miguel Garcia Velho, founder of the primitive Itajubá, today the city and municipality of Delfim Moreira. In the vicinity of Passa-Quatro, Miguel followed the Bocaina valleys, moving away from the route already taken by other explorers, which led to Rio Verde and Baependi. He crossed the Serra dos Marins and the Capivari plateau, where he discovered some spots of gold. In Córrego Alegre and in the waters of Tabuão he found greater evidence of the coveted metal. He intended to reach Serra de Cubatão, but the Itagybá mine was the one that seduced him the most, and where he stayed for the longest time, starting the town. It was 1703. The mining in the Itagybá mines was ephemeral. The catas and gupiaras were not worth the work and did not correspond to the thirst for riches of Miguel Garcia Velho and his companions. The bandeirantes withdrew, and those who remained in the village managed to deal with agriculture and livestock. A industrious people, but with limited resources, as the camp was in an unfavorable location, and the Soledade of Itagybá did not prosper. . The Parish of Nossa Senhora da Soledade de Itajubá (current city and municipality of Delfim Moreira), already in the middle of the 18th century, found its economic resources and social life greatly shaken with the stoppage of gold mining activities. The adventurers who, after Garcia Velho, were there, soon abandoned those mines. The few inhabitants of the village, from then on, no longer thought about gold, which no longer gave bread or food to anyone, as it became so rare. With the death of the parish priest, Father Joaquim José Ferreira, which occurred at the beginning of 1817, Soledade de Itajubá would only be given over to a new vicar, Father Lourenço da Costa Moreira, more than a year later, through the royal appointment of D. João VI. The vicar was accompanied by his slaves, Mrs. D. Inês de Castro Silva, from the Dominican, a 5-year-old boy, and Delminda, a tiny child of just 2 years old, who were under the care of the zealous maids in his entourage. The name Itagybá, which in the indigenous language means “River of stones that fall from above”, waterfall, was given in allusion to the waterfall next to the Miguel Garcia Velho mines, suggested by his expedition companions. As there was never a lack of Catholic religious evocation in the old towns, they soon called the village Nossa Senhora da Soledade de Itajubá, or, as people said at the time, Itagybá. The historic waterfall that gave Itajubá its name is in the urban area of ​​the city of Delfim Moreira, the primitive Itagybá, about half a kilometer from the center and its main church. Due to unfortunate confusion with the word itajuba (with the stressed sikaba in the – jú), many people believe that Itajubá means yellow stone. And popular fantasy even imagined the existence of a yellow stone in the municipality. . Two months after his arrival at Soledade de Itajubá, Father Lourenço da Costa Moreira, during the conventual mass, used the sacred tribune to explain to his parishioners that the poor location of the village was not favorable to development and, from the pulpit, invited his parishioners going down the mountains, towards Sapucaí, looking for a nice and good place, in which the new headquarters of the Parish could be built. The Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Soledade would remain there. On the night of March 17, 1819, the vicar gathered, at the Main Church, all the faithful who would follow them. The next morning, after mass, the caravan headed towards Sapucaí. They were the pioneers of the new Matrix, who marched with the mission of founding the new Itajubá. The next day, everyone headed to the top of the hill called Ibitira, according to the name of the Puri-Coroados, the vicar was amazed by what he saw. There was no need to continue the journey. The place where they were located seemed excellent for the foundation of the new town and the headquarters of the Parish. There, in the middle of the clearing opened by the explorers, an altar was built and the Cross where Father Lourenço celebrated the first mass. It was on this altar erected exactly where the Parish Church of Nossa Senhora da Soledade is today, where the current City of Itajubá was born on March 19, 1819. #djimini3pro #vstrom650 #minasgerais