History

Palhoça was founded in 1793, when the city was part of the way between Lages

Lages

Lages, formerly Lajens, is a Brazilian town located in the central part of the state of Santa Catarina, in the region known in Portuguese as "Planalto Serrano"....

 and Florianópolis

Florianópolis

-Climate:Florianópolis experiences a warm humid subtropical climate, falling just short of a true tropical climate. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather for autumn and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in the winter...

 in order to protect the capital state from possible invasions. It name comes from “straw roof” because the huge quantity of houses with this kind of roof, once the first Palhoça citizens was the native people.

Geography

Palhoça is located in Florianópolis Region. It is bordered on the north by São José

São José

Among other things there are many civil parishes that have the name São José :-Brazil:*São José, Paulínia, Paulínia, São Paulo*São José, Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina*São José do Alegre, Minas Gerais...

, on the northwest by São Pedro de Alcântara

São Pedro de Alcântara

São Pedro de Alcântara was a Franciscan monastery in the Bairro Alto district of Lisbon, founded in the late 18th century. It is a large Baroque building, with a highly decorated chapel....

, on the southwest by Santo Amaro da Imperatriz

Santo Amaro da Imperatriz

Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, or simply Santo Amaro, is a small city located close to the state capital Florianópolis and is connect to Palhoça by BR-282 in the northeast...

, on the south by Paulo Lopes and on the east by Santa Catarina Island south bay.

The Palhoça coast consists in a long mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

 and beaches on the south.

The highest point of the city is Cambirela mountain, located in a natural preservation area.

Economy

The most important industries of the city are located on the north region. Ponte do Imaruim neighborhood is has a strong commerce while Jardim Eldorado neighborhood has the most important industry zone. The south of the have developed the tourism and fishing as a way to improve the city economy.

Palhoça’s economy has been growing. Because of that, companies like Renner and AmBev

AmBev

Ambev formally Companhia de Bebidas das Américas is a subsidiary of global brewing company Anheuser-Busch InBev and is the biggest brewery in South America and the fifth in the world...

 built their headquarters in this city. In 2010, Via Catarina Mall, the first built in this city, will be opened in Pagani neighborhood, close to the City Hall.

New private neighborhoods have been built, concerned about natural preservation and quality of life.

Even though economy is growing, a lot of people still live in poor neighborhoods, with high criminal rates.

Transportation

BR-282 highway connects the city with Santo Amaro da Imperatriz

Santo Amaro da Imperatriz

Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, or simply Santo Amaro, is a small city located close to the state capital Florianópolis and is connect to Palhoça by BR-282 in the northeast...

 while BR-101

BR-101

The BR-101 is a longitudinal highway of Brazil. It is the longest in the country with a length of nearly , and it is also considered the most important....

 connects Palhoça with São José

São José

Among other things there are many civil parishes that have the name São José :-Brazil:*São José, Paulínia, Paulínia, São Paulo*São José, Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina*São José do Alegre, Minas Gerais...

 and Paulo Lopes.

The bus is the only mean of public transportation in Palhoça. Jotur, Imperatriz and Paulo Lopes are the bus companies that operate in Palhoça.