Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul

The city has changed names three times in history. Before the Italian immigration began, the place where the city downtown is located today was crossed by horsemen, and since there was well known north–south trail with a small wooden cross at the place, the name Cruzinha ("little cross") was used to name this region.{{cite web|URL=http://www.jornalcruzeiro.com.br/materia/282211/a-historia-da-cidade-que-ja-se-chamou-cruzinha|title=The Story of the city that was once called Cruzinha|language=pt|publisher=Jornal Cruzeiro|access-date=2 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624035655/https://www.jornalcruzeiro.com.br/materia/282211/a-historia-da-cidade-que-ja-se-chamou-cruzinha|archive-date=24 June 2018|url-status=dead}} After a decree of the effective governor of the province in the 1870s, the area was renamed Colônia Dona Isabel ("Dona Isabel Colony"), after the Brazilian princess Isabel de Bragança.{{cite book|author=CAPRARA, Bernardete Schiavo|title=Da colônia Dona Isabel ao município de Bento Gonçalves|language=pt|page=583|year=2005}}

In 1890, Colônia Dona Isabel separated from the municipality of Montenegro, and was renamed in honour of Bento Gonçalves da Silva, leader of the rebel forces of the Farroupilha Revolution 45 years earlier, and first president of the short-lived Riograndense Republic.

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File:Bento Goncalves Wine Fountain 2010.jpg wine fountain near Town Hall.]]

File:Maria fumaca bento.jpg

File:Bento3.jpg

Before 1870, the area where the city is located (then known as Cruzinha) was inhabited, as the rest of the region, by Indigenous people of the "jê" tribe.

In 1875, the Brazilian government created, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, four settlements to receive Italian immigrants. In the Cruzinha area, a settlement was created called Dona Isabel. "Dona Isabel" received the first 25 families of Italian settlers in that same year. They mostly came from the region of Trento.

During the next few decades, the region was settled by immigrants coming mostly from the Italian regions of Veneto, Trentino, and Lombardia.

In 1890, Dona Isabel was elevated to the category of city, changing its name to Bento Gonçalves (named after the military leader of the Ragamuffin War).

The Italian immigrants mostly worked in grape and wine production.

During the first few decades of the 20th century, the city continued to receive immigrants. Besides the Italians, there were large groups of Polish, German, Swedish, French, and Spanish immigrants.

At that time, there were already some functioning wine factories and the furniture and metallurgic industry was just starting to take off.

The railways arrived at the city in 1919, helping to connect it with the capital of the state, Porto Alegre, and facilitating the transport of the city's economic production. There were regular passenger trains running until 1976; however, today the railways are used mostly to transport goods.

The electric light distribution system was installed between 1919 and 1927. The Bartolomeu Tacchini Hospital was built during the same period.

In 1950, the population was 22,600. Industrial activity expanded, especially in the wine, furniture, leather, chemical, metal, and mechanical sectors.

In 1967, the city organized the first National Wine Festival (Fenavinho), receiving, for the first time, a visit from a Brazilian President.

The city started to organize and receive many important national and international events. It is now home to the second largest exposition park in Latin America. Among these events are the Movelsul (Furniture Fair), FIMMA Brasil (Furniture Machinery Fair), Vino Brasil (Wine Machinery Fair), Avaliação Nacional de Vinhos (National Wine Assessment), Fenavinho e Expobento (Commercial Fair).

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Bento Gonçalves is among the ten largest economies in Rio Grande do Sul. It is the largest producer of wine in Brazil and has the second largest furniture production industry in the country. It also has important metal, mechanical, plastic, and chemical industries. It has the highest Human Development Index of Rio Grande do Sul and the sixth among all Brazilian cities - 0,870 (PNUD/2000).

The average elevation of Bento Gonçalves is 690 meters above the sea level.

Summers are warm and winters are mild. During the climatic winter frosts are common and snow is rare. The highest temperature officially recorded in the city was 36 °C and the lowest was -4,5 °C.

{{Weather box|width=auto

|metric first=y

|single line=y

|collapsed = Y

|location = Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul (1981–2010)

|Jan high C = 27.3

|Feb high C = 27.0

|Mar high C = 26.0

|Apr high C = 22.9

|May high C = 19.3

|Jun high C = 17.5

|Jul high C = 17.4

|Aug high C = 19.6

|Sep high C = 20.3

|Oct high C = 22.7

|Nov high C = 24.7

|Dec high C = 26.7

| year high C = 22.6

|Jan mean C = 21.9

|Feb mean C = 21.6

|Mar mean C = 20.5

|Apr mean C = 17.9

|May mean C = 14.6

|Jun mean C = 13.0

|Jul mean C = 12.5

|Aug mean C = 14.0

|Sep mean C = 14.8

|Oct mean C = 17.5

|Nov mean C = 19.2

|Dec mean C = 20.9

| year mean C = 17.4

|Jan low C = 17.7

|Feb low C = 17.7

|Mar low C = 16.6

|Apr low C = 13.8

|May low C = 10.9

|Jun low C = 9.3

|Jul low C = 8.5

|Aug low C = 9.5

|Sep low C = 10.5

|Oct low C = 13.0

|Nov low C = 14.5

|Dec low C = 16.4

| year low C = 13.2

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 162.1

|Feb precipitation mm = 151.7

|Mar precipitation mm = 117.8

|Apr precipitation mm = 124.3

|May precipitation mm = 130.3

|Jun precipitation mm = 144.4

|Jul precipitation mm = 188.5

|Aug precipitation mm = 148.9

|Sep precipitation mm = 161.3

|Oct precipitation mm = 185.6

|Nov precipitation mm = 138.4

|Dec precipitation mm = 128.6

|year precipitation mm = 1781.9

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

| Jan precipitation days = 12

| Feb precipitation days = 11

| Mar precipitation days = 10

| Apr precipitation days = 8

| May precipitation days = 9

| Jun precipitation days = 10

| Jul precipitation days = 10

| Aug precipitation days = 9

| Sep precipitation days = 10

| Oct precipitation days = 10

| Nov precipitation days = 9

| Dec precipitation days = 8

| year precipitation days =

| Jan humidity = 75.7

| Feb humidity = 77.9

| Mar humidity = 77.1

| Apr humidity = 77.5

| May humidity = 80.1

| Jun humidity = 80.5

| Jul humidity = 77.3

| Aug humidity = 72.5

| Sep humidity = 75.0

| Oct humidity = 75.9

| Nov humidity = 73.2

| Dec humidity = 72.7

| year humidity = 76.3

|Jan sun = 223.0

|Feb sun = 197.4

|Mar sun = 212.5

|Apr sun = 181.9

|May sun = 152.4

|Jun sun = 131.2

|Jul sun = 153.2

|Aug sun = 168.8

|Sep sun = 169.1

|Oct sun = 183.4

|Nov sun = 220.4

|Dec sun = 241.1

|year sun = 2234.4

|source 1 = Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia{{cite web

| url = http://www.inmet.gov.br/portal/index.php?r=clima/normaisclimatologicas

| title = Normais Climatológicas Do Brasil 1981–2010

| publisher = Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia

| language = Portuguese

| accessdate = 21 May 2024}}

}}

The Maria Fumaça steam locomotive offers tourist trips in the rolling countryside of Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi and Carlos Barbosa.

Museums about the Italian heritage of the city include the [http://www.pousadaencantosdaterra.com.br/atracoes_bento_goncalves.asp#Epopeia%20Italiana Epopéia Italiana].

The city is also part of Vale dos Vinhedos, a region with 82 km square located at the limits of Garibaldi, Monte Belo do Sul and Bento Gonçalves. Many restaurants and wineries can be found at Vale dos Vinhedos, making the region a well known enotourism route in Brazil.

File:Bento Gonçalves Panorama 2009.jpg

Image:Bento Gonçalves Gemellaggio.jpg

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Brazil}}

Bento Gonçalves is twinned with:{{cite web|title=Cidades Irmãs|url=http://www.bentogoncalves.rs.gov.br/a-cidade/cidades-irmas|website=bentogoncalves.rs.gov.br|publisher=Bento Gonçalves|language=pt|access-date=2020-05-22|archive-date=25 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125212954/http://bentogoncalves.rs.gov.br/a-cidade/cidades-irmas|url-status=dead}}

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}

• {{flagicon|ITA}} Brentonico, Italy
• {{flagicon|POR}} Cartaxo, Portugal
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Isera, Italy
• {{flagicon|ARG}} Luján de Cuyo, Argentina
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Mori, Italy
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Nogaredo, Italy
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Rovereto, Italy
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Terragnolo, Italy
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Trambileno, Italy
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Villa Lagarina, Italy

{{div col end}}

Main reasons for twinning with Italian municipalities are Italian immigration history and enotourism.

• List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikivoyage|Bento Gonçalves}}

• {{in lang|pt}} [http://www.bentogoncalves.rs.gov.br/ City's website]
• {{in lang|pt}} [http://www.bentofacil.com.br/ City's search site BentoFacil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008143249/http://www.bentofacil.com.br/ |date=8 October 2011 }}
• {{in lang|pt}} [http://www.google.com.br/maps?f=q&hl=pt-BR&geocode=&q=bento+goncalves+brazil&ie=UTF8&z=11 City Map of Bento Gonçalves]
• {{in lang|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20050912035522/http://www.triptobrazil.com/viagens/bentogoncalvesING.htm Bento Gonçalves travel page]
• {{in lang|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20050213105907/http://www.brazilnuts.com/countryinfo/countryinfo_immigration.asp%23#IT History of Italian Immigration to Brazil]

{{Municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:Municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul