Cunha, São Paulo

Cunha
Cunha
Municipality
	The main church in downtown Cunha
	Flag Seal
	Location in the state of São Paulo
	Cunha
	Coordinates: 23°04′26″S 44°57′36″W / 23.07389°S 44.96000°W
Country	Brazil
Region	Southeast
State	São Paulo
Founded	20 April 1858
Government
• Mayor	Rolien Guarda Garcia (PSB)
Area
• Total	1,407.25 km2 (543.34 sq mi)
Elevation	950 m (3,120 ft)
Population (2015)
• Total	22,086
• Density	16/km2 (41/sq mi)
• Demonym	Cunhense
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (UTC-2)
HDI (2000)	0.733 –high
Website	Cunha City Hall

Cunha is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte.^[3] The population is 22,086 (2015 est.) in an area of 1,407.25 km².^[1] The first inhabitants arrived in the beginning of the 18th century. The municipality was founded in 1785, it was elevated to a city in 1858. Since 1975 Cunha has become an important center of stoneware ceramics, with 5 Noborigama wood fired kilns and 16 ceramics studios in all. The city is visited for ceramics, a pleasant climate, natural parks and gastronomy. In recent years tourism to the region has grown, with visitors coming from around the region to enjoy the local state park (Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar), artisan shops such as Aracatu and Oficina da Lã as well as festivals like the annual lamb festival (Festival do Cordeiro). On October 25, 2015, Cunha will host the first edition of the Brazilian portion of the Tour de France cycling competition.^{[needs update]}

Population history

Year	Population
2001	23,090
2003	22,975
2004	22,889
2015	22,086

Demographics

According to the 2000 IBGE Census, the population was 23,090, of which 11,134 or 48.22% are urban and 11,936 or (51.69%) are rural. The average life expectancy was 71.69 years. The fertility rate was at 2.41.