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former municipal palace
the skyline
the train crossing the river
curitiba's brown spiderSanta Felicidade - Holy Happiness :)))
Some 8 km northwest of the city is Santa Felicidade, an outer suburb of Curitiba. The residents like to refer to it as an Italian colony inside the city. It's the neighbourhood where some of the first immigrants from northern Italy settled. They dedicated themselves to the agricultural production and especially in wine and cheese making. The name of the area is homage to the Brazilian Dona Felicidade, who donated a part of her land to the hard-working Italian immigrants.
Today the main reason to visit Santa Felicidade is for the restaurants, which line the main road, Avenida Manoel Ribas. It has some of the city's best and biggest restaurants and wineries with production right there. Among others, there is Madalosso, the second biggest restaurant in the world (Guiness Book 1995). These places generally offer the northern Italian dishes that have been adapted according to the availability of ingredients and the results are an interesting blend of local Brazilian and Italian influences.
Alongside Avenida Manoel Ribas you also find shops selling plants, wooden furniture, wicker items, crafts, wine and other local produce.
The residents work hard to maintain their Italian culture and heritage and it shows in the architecture and personality of the area. Santa Felicidade is the location of several annual festivals, including the Grape festival in February and Wine Festival in June and July.
Yellow buses to Santa Felicidade can be caught on Travessa Nestor de Castro (just below Curitiba's historic quarter) and the journey takes about 45 minutes.
