School Yard

Pátio do Colégio is the name given to the historical Jesuit church and school in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The name is also used to refer to the square in front of the church. The Pátio do Colégio marks the site where the city was founded in 1554.The city of São Paulo has its beginnings in a mission established by Jesuits Manuel da Nóbrega, José de Anchieta and others in the Brazilian hinterland. The village - then called São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga - was founded on a plateau between two rivers, the Tamanduateí and the Anhangabaú, and was linked to the coastal village of São Vicente by a precarious path in the rainforest.

The date that marks the beginning of São Paulo is January 25, 1554, when the priests celebrated the inaugural mass of the Jesuit school. Initially, the church building was a modest hut covered with palm leaves or straw.