Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and the world’s 7th largest metropolitan area. (Also the largest city proper in the Western World). Sao Paulo is also the capital of the state of Sao Paulo, the most populous Brazilian state. It is also the richest city in Brazil. The name of the city honors Saint Paul. Sao Paulo exerts strong regional influence in commerce and finance as well as arts and entertainment. Sao Paulo is considered an Alpha World City.
The city has many renowned landmarks, such as the Museu Paulista do Ipiranga, the Gothic Metropolitan Se Cathedral, the Sao Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), the Monumento a Bandeira Portuguese to Monument to the flag and Niemeyer’s Ibirapuera complex Bienal, planetarium, and museums; and more recently the Estaiada bridge in the South Side. Paulista Avenue, in Midtown is the most important financial center in the country and South America.
The city is home to the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, or BOVESPA, the Future Markets, and the Cereal Market Stock Exchanges. Sao Paulo has been home to several of the tallest buildings in Brazil, including the Mirante do Vale Building and Italia Building.
With an estimated population of 11,037,593 residents within an area of 1,523 square kilometers (588.0 sq mi), Sao Paulo is the most populous city in the Americas, 6th largest in the world as well as most populous in the Southern hemisphere.
The city also lies at the center of the heavily urbanized Sao Paulo metropolitan area, with an estimated 19,889,559 people in 2009 over 7,944 square kilometers (3,067.2 sq mi), is the largest metropolitan area in the nation. Depending on which definition is used, the Sao Paulo metropolitan area is ranked as either the most populous or second most populous in the Americas.
People from the city of Sao Paulo are known as paulistanos, while paulistas designates anyone from the whole of Sao Paulo state, including the paulistanos. The city’s Latin motto, which it has shared with the battleship and the aircraft carrier named after it, is Non ducor, duco, which translates as “I am not led, I lead.”
A famous nickname for the city is “Sampa.” Sao Paulo is also known for its unreliable weather, the size of its helicopter fleet, architecture, gastronomy, and multitude of skyscrapers. The Sao Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport operates many domestic and international flights.
