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Home > Travel Central America > Central America Destinations > Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is variably defined either as being a region of the Americas in its own right or as the southern portion of North America. Physiographically, Central America is a tropical isthmus that connects North and South America. It includes 7 countries and many small offshore islands. Overall, the land is fertile and rugged, and dominated through its heart by a string of volcanic mountain ranges with a few active volcanos.
Belo Horizonte is the third largest metropolitan area and fifth largest city in Brazil after sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Fortaleza. It is the capital of Minas Gerais state, located in the southeastern region of the country. With a population of almost 2.4 million and over 5 million in the official metropolitan area, Belo Horizonte or Beaga as it is more familiarly known from the sound of its initials BH in Portuguese is a place of intense economical and cultural activity. It has a good infrastructure for national and international events.
In discovered history of city the first settlements in the region occurred in the early 1700s, but the city as it is known today was planned and constructed in the 1890s, in order to replace Ouro Preto as the capital of Minas Gerais. It is nowadays notorious for the contrast between contemporary and classical buildings, being in fact the location of many modern Brazilian architectural icons, most notably the Pampulha Church.
Belo Horizonte had never been a popular destination among tourists, as it lacks one of the main touristic features of Brazil beaches. During the past years, the city has made investments in business-tourism. The climate from Belo Horizonte can be classified as altitude tropical.
Belo Horizonte has plenty of significant landmarks, many of them situated in the Pampulha district, where there are very symbolic pieces of the Brazilian contemporary architecture. These include one of the largest football stadiums of the world, the Mineirao stadium, and the Sao Francisco de Assis Church, widely known as Igreja da Pampulha, designed by famous modern school architect Oscar Niemeyer.
In Brazil, football is the most popular sport among locals. In Belo Horizonte, there are two of the most successful teams in the country. Atletico Mineiro is traditionally knwon as the popular club of the city. Together with football, Belo Horizonte has one of the largest attendances at volleyball matches in the whole country.
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