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The Tropic of Capricorn, at about 23°27′ S, passes through São Paulo and roughly marks the boundary between the tropical and temperate areas of South America. Because of its elevation, however, São Paulo enjoys a distinctly temperate climate. July is the coldest month, with an average temperature of 58 °F (14 °C) and occasional frost. The warmest is February, which averages 69 °F (21 °C). Rainfall is abundant, particularly during the summer season from October through March, averaging 56 inches (1,422 mm) per year. Humidity and air pollution combine to form a mist that often hangs over the city.
City layout
In sharp contrast to Rio de Janeiro, where the ocean and mountains determine the city’s configuration, dauntingly vast São Paulo sprawls virtually unrestrained in all directions. Although its nicer residential areas are to the southwest and west of the commercial centre, where elevations are generally higher, the spatial distribution of socioeconomic differences is not as distinct as it is in Rio. The lack of mountains or even significant hillsides means that São Paulo’s favelas, or shantytowns, are horizontal, not vertical, and do not overhang or directly abut affluent neighbourhoods as in Rio de Janeiro. The new favelas that are rising are well removed from the centre and disconnected from city services. As they grow, only some are integrated into the city; most still suffer substandard conditions.
The city centre
São Paulo’s centre is marked by squares and parks, all within walking distance of one another. The vibrant commercial centre of São Paulo revolves around the famous Triângulo (“Triangle”), the city’s original centre, bounded by Avenidas Direita, XV de Novembro, and São Bento and near the intersection of Avenida Ipiranga and Rua da Consolação. Rua da Consolação runs eastward to Dom José Gaspar Square, site of the grandiose Mário de Andrade Municipal Library (1926). This compact central commercial district is anchored on the west by Franklin Roosevelt Square, which abuts the elevated expressway locally known as Minhocão.
From the Triângulo, Avenida Ipiranga is lined by towering buildings, including the notable serpentine Copan Building (1950; designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer) and farther northeast, the 46-story Itália Building (1956). A short distance up Avenida Ipiranga lies Republic Square, with the municipal building at its west end and stores and cinemas lining its front. Just southeast are Ramos de Azevedo Square and the Municipal Theatre, built at the beginning of the 20th century and refurbished in the 21st. The theatre, like its Rio counterpart, is modeled on the Paris Opera.
The bridgelike Cha Viaduct follows Rua Barão de Itapetininga through the Triângulo past San Antonio Church to Sé Square, which is dominated by the immense Metropolitan Cathedral (1954; renovated 2002), with Byzantine elements and twin Neo-Gothic towers. Reconstructed in the 1970s, large and bustling Sé Square sits atop the intersection of São Paulo’s main subway lines. The broad Avenida 9 de Julho (July 9) runs from the city’s sprawling western sector past the north side of nearby Bandeira Square until (with a name change) it continues beneath Anhangabaú Park, a plant- and flower-bedecked refuge for pedestrians that runs from the Cha Viaduct almost to the northern edge of the city centre.
Northwest from Sé Square are Solar da Marquesa de Santos, an opulent 18th-century residence housing the City Museum, and the colonial-era Anchieta House (Padre Anchieta Museum), adjacent to the Pátio de Colégio, the site of São Paulo’s founding in 1554, now a cultural centre. To their northwest, level with Ramos de Azevedo Square, are Antonio Prado Square, the 36-story Bank of São Paulo Building (1997), and the Martinelli Building—the city’s first skyscraper (1929; restored 1979). To their northeast, past the São Bento Monastery, is the colossal Neo-Baroque Municipal Market (1928; renovated 2004), which houses a wide variety of restaurants and hundreds of food and produce stalls. The Santo Ifigênia Viaduct, a cast-iron pedestrian walkway over the broad avenue coming out from under Anhangabaú Park, dates from 1930 but was refurbished in 1978.
West of the centre
Running northwest from the bottom of the Paraíso district and southwest of the Liberdade district is the wide expanse of Avenida Paulista, the throbbing centre of São Paulo’s financial life, interspersed with pricey boutiques, restaurants, and nightclubs. The avenue was once an opulent row of coffee barons’ and industrial magnates’ mansions, each standing back from the street in a private manicured park. Running south-southeast from Rua da Consolação, its northernmost link to the centre, Avenida Paulista boasts modern office buildings, banks, and multinational corporations, as well as the São Paulo Art Museum (Museu de Arte de São Paulo; MASP), constructed during the 1960s and dramatically suspended between two red concrete arches over the Avenida 9 de Julho Tunnel. Just off Avenida Paulista are most of São Paulo’s platoon of five-star hotels. Behind the MASP and abutting Alexandre de Gusmão Square is Trianon Park (the name by which it is popularly known, though it was formally renamed for 1920s political hero Lieut. Siqueira Campos). North of Avenida Paulista is the residential district containing the world-class municipal football (soccer) stadium Pacaembu, whence the once exclusive but still desirable residential district of Higienópolis runs northeast toward the centre.
Directly south of the heart of Avenida Paulista is spacious Ibirapuera Park, the distinguished home of the state legislature, the 9 de Julho Palace. The Palace lies at the park’s northern tip, and the prosaic former city hall (the city headquarters has been housed in the Matarazzo Building since 2004) faces it across a lake. Ibirapuera Park also houses the Modern Art Museum, a planetarium, and exhibition pavilions. The São Paulo Biennial, which began in 1951, is one of the largest international art exhibitions in the Southern Hemisphere, held every other October in the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion in Ibirapuera Park. Almost a mile south of the park is the Ibirapuera shopping center, a megamall with hundreds of stores. On the south side of São Paulo, level with Ibirapuera Park to its west, is Congonhas Airport, a domestic aviation hub on par with Rio de Janeiro’s Santos Dumont.
The southwest quadrant of central São Paulo features upscale districts; one of the best-known is elegant and trendy Jardins (“Gardens”), featuring restaurants, stores, and a vibrant social scene. These favoured districts are home to a large proportion of the city’s upper middle class. The El Dorado and Iguatemi shopping centres are nearby, and the still opulent Jockey Club is just across the north-south–flowing Pinheiros River. To its northwest in the Butantã district is the sprawling main campus of the renowned University of São Paulo, bounded to the north by the curving river. Just to its south is the posh residential district of Morumbi, featuring fortresslike mansions, luxury high-rise buildings, and gated communities (many with well-armed private security guards). Embedded in it is gigantic Morumbi stadium, São Paulo’s answer to Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana. It is home to the legendary São Paulo FC, which has won the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Club World Championship several times. The district also contains the state government’s seat, the impressive Bandeirantes Palace. Beyond Morumbi and Butantã, less-prestigious residential districts stretch to the city limits before merging into industrial suburbs. In contrast, much of the growth of office buildings has taken place on Avenida Faria Lima southwest of Jardins.