Santa Maria (Rio Grande do Sul)

Santa Maria is a municipality (município) in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2017, its population was 278,445 inhabitants in a total area of 1823km2. Santa Maria is the 5th biggest municipality in the the state, and the largest in its micro-region.Santa Maria is often referred to as the "heart of Rio Grande" (from Portuguese: "Coração do Rio Grande"), because the geographical center of the state is located in a rural District of Santa Maria called Passo do Verde. Santa Maria is also given the nicknames of "University City" (Portuguese: "Cidade Universitária") or "Culture city" (Portuguese: "Cidade Cultura"), due to its large student population. The largest university, the Federal University of Santa Maria, was founded in 1960 by José Mariano da Rocha Filho; while the private university center Centro Universitário Franciscano was founded in 1951. The city also has a number of other smaller private colleges.The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Maria, and annually hosts an important Roman Catholic festival dedicated to Nossa Senhora Medianeira, called "Romaria da Medianeira" (Medianeira is a name of Our Lady that was created in Venice, Italy). Every year, hundreds of thousands of people from all over Brazil join in the celebrations.