Itu is an historic municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba. The population is 167,095 in an area of 640.72 km2. The elevation is 583 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language, meaning big waterfall. Two rivers flow through Itu: Tietê and Jundiaí. Itu has five hospitals, eleven bank agencies and one shopping center, the Plaza Shopping Itu. Itu was founded by the Portuguese in 1610 by Domingos Fernandes. It became a parish in 1653. In 1657, it was elevated to a town and municipality. It became a part of Brazil in 1822. It became a city in 1843.
Geography
Its climate is subtropical, temperatures varies from 16° and 22°. The summer is warm and dry, and the winters are moderately cold and dry. It is located between the crystalline plateau and sedimentary areas.
Population history
Year
Population
2001
135,366
2004
149,758
2009
157,384
2015
167,095
Demographics
According to the 2000 IBGE Census, the population was 136,366, of which 123,942 are urban and 11,424 are rural. The average life expectancy was 71.53 years. The literacy rate was at 92.53%.
Transportation
The main roads passing through the municipality are:
SP-75
SP-79
SP-300
SP-308
SP-312
Tourism
Itu was the birthplace of nationally-known comedian Simplicio, whose catchphrase was "back home in Itu everything is bigger". This led to the city becoming known as the "capital of large things", with a number of oversized objects being constructed there. The town's "exaggerations" include a 4m tall yellow phone booth called "orelhão", an oversized street light, a giant car tire and a mast decorated with a star, claimed to be the world's tallest artificial Christmas tree. With the increase in domestic tourism the infrastructure soon developed to attract foreign visitors as well as international meetings, seminars and congress events. In 1999 and 2003 the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement held their international delegation session in Itu bringing people from over 80 countries to the city at each event.
