Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants makes it the 12th-most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fifth-largest metropolitan area, with 4,405,760 inhabitants. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian state.Porto Alegre was founded in 1769 by Manuel Jorge Gomes de Sepúlveda, who used the pseudonym José Marcelino de Figueiredo to hide his identity; the official date, though, is 1772 with the act signed by immigrants from the Azores, Portugal.

The city lies on the eastern bank of the Guaíba Lake, where five rivers converge to form the Lagoa dos Patos, a giant freshwater lagoon navigable by even the largest of ships. This five-river junction has become an important alluvial port and a chief industrial and commercial center of Brazil.