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- The capital
of Piauν, Teresina
was the first city in Brazil to be planned. It was designed in 1852
by a master builder in the form of a chessboard. Situated at the mouth
of the Rivers Parnaνba and Poti, it is known as the green city because
all its streets and avenues are lined with trees, mainly mangoes.
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- These two rivers
provide the city with beaches that are very popular during the period
of drought between May and November when the waters retreat and form
lakes surrounded by sandbanks. The city also has beautiful sunsets
and various monuments, in particular the church of St. Benedict built
in 1886, with carved timber doors, and the 4 de Setembro Theatre in
the neo-classical style, inaugurated in 1893.
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- Dating from
more modern times is the church of Our Lady of Lourdes, built in 1961
and decorated with sculptures by the masters Dezinho and Expedito,
the most famous sculptors in Piauν, and the gardens of the Karnak
Palace - seat of state government - designed by Roberto Burle Marx,
regarded as Brazil's greatest landscape architect.
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- A visit to Teresina
would not be complete without hearing the legend of the "Head made
from a Gourd" - preferably told by someone who swears he has seen
it - told all over the city. According to folklore, the being lives
at the confluence of the Rivers Parnaνba and Poti and is a citizen
with staring eyes who, more than two centuries ago, was the victim
of a curse: he can only come out of the water when he manages to deflower
seven Marias.
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