Pan-n-eeí-bo

Santana de Parnaíba stands beside the Tietê on the plateau west of São Paulo. A settlement developed around a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne and became a town in 1625. From this inland base expeditions known as bandeiras set out into the Brazilian interior, seeking mineral wealth and Indigenous captives. The town’s position on the river and roads made it an early centre of Portuguese expansion beyond the coast.