Sister cities of Teresina

Teresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. Being located in North-central Piauí 366 km from the coast, it is the only capital in the Brazilian Northeast that is not located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. With 814,439 inhabitants, Teresina is the 19th largest city in Brazil, and the 15th largest state capital in the country. Together with Timon in the nearby state of Maranhão, it forms a conurbation with a population of about 953,172 inhabitants; the entire metropolitan region of Teresina has over 1,135,920 inhabitants. The only natural barrier that separates Teresina from Timon is the Parnaíba river, one of the largest in the Northeast. Teresina is the second capital with the best quality of life in the North-Northeast according to FIRJAN. According to IPEA it is the third safest capital of Brazil (second only to Natal, and Palmas).

Its motto is the Latin phrase Omnia in Charitatis, which means, in English, "All for charity". The city is the birthplace of, among the others, Torquato Neto, who belonged to the Tropicalismo movement.

Teresina was founded on August 16, 1852 under the name of Vila Nova do Poty (because its origin is linked to the Poti river) as the capital of the state of Piauí. It was the first planned city in the country and the only northeast capital located out of the coast. Until 1852, Oeiras was the capital of the Piauí Capitany, however due to difficulties in Communication and Trade, the capital was transferred to an area next to the Parnaíba River, to the other cities and to the sea coast. The colonization of the place where Teresina is now located dates back to the 18th century. The chosen place was a small community of fishermen, in 1760, nearby Poty and Panaíba rivers. Then the small fishermen dwelling grew up and became a village, which was called “Vila do Poty”, but, due to the inundation of the Parnaíba River riverbanks, the city had to be built in a higher position. In the 19th century, it was initially called "Vila Nova do Poty", but later the city was renamed Teresina, in honor of the Empress Teresa Cristina, the wife of the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro II.

Teresina is the hottest city in the country and the third city with the major incidence of lightning in the world. Nowadays, Teresina’s economy is based on international manufacturing industries and trade.