Porto Alegre, the largest city in the south of Brazil, is the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city was founded in 1742 by immigrants from the Azores. Since the 19th century the city has received numerous German and Italian settlers. Lying as it does at the junction of five rivers, it has become an important port as well as one of the chief industrial and commercial centres in Brazil.
Products of the rich agricultural and pastoral hinterland, such as leather, canned beef, and rice, are exported from Porto Alegre to destinations as far away as Africa and Japan.
