Magé

Magé lies near the northern shore of Guanabara Bay, below the forested mountains of the Serra do Mar. Simão da Mota established a residence on a land grant here in 1565, beginning a colonial settlement in the area. In the eighteenth century a route opened by Bernardo de Proença crossed the mountains toward Minas Gerais, while the riverside port of Estrela served traffic between Rio de Janeiro and the mines.