BRAZIL ARMY

ENGLISH VERSION
In the 19th century, Vila Velha deserved special mentions from travelers who passed through it, including the French naturalist Auguste de Saint-Hilaire, the German prince Maximiliano, the bishop José Caetano da Silva Coutinho and even the Brazilian Emperor D.Pedro. II. On his visit to Vila Velha, in 1860, the emperor was accompanied by the empress D. Teresa Cristina. D.Pedro II went up to the Penha Convent and recorded in his travel diary the impression he had of the magnificent panorama that can be seen from above.
On November 30, 1896, by virtue of State Law nº 212, the district of Vila Velha was elevated to the category of municipality.
On April 21, 1931, the municipality of Vila Velha was incorporated into that of Vitória, by State Decree nº 1,102, remaining in this condition until 1938. In 1943, there was a new annexation to the municipality of the state capital, from which Vila Velha it was only separated in 1947. On January 31, 1959, through State Law nº 479, the name Vila Velha was made official for the old village of Espírito Santo, cradle of Portuguese colonization in Espírito Santo lands.
Until the 1960s, the population of the city of Vila Velha maintained a close connection with the city of Vitória. This is because a large part of the population lived in Vila Velha, or in some districts of the municipality, and worked or studied in Vitória. This situation underwent a very big change from the intense urban transformation that Vila Velha went through in the last decades of the 20th century, notably in the neighborhoods of Praia da Costa and Praia de Itapoã, in addition to the economic expansion that the municipality experienced, which has at the Garoto chocolate factory, one of its most important landmarks.