Fundão () is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Espírito Santo. Part of the Greater Vitória metropolitan region, the Intermediate Region of Vitória, and the Immediate Region of Vitória, it is located north of the state capital, approximately away. Covering an area of , of which is urban, its population was recorded as 18,014 inhabitants by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in 2022.
The average annual temperature in the municipal seat is , with the predominant vegetation being Atlantic Forest. With an urbanization rate of approximately 84%, the municipality had five healthcare facilities in 2009. Its Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.718, classified as high.
Fundão was emancipated from the former municipality of Nova Almeida in 1923. Today, it comprises the city of Fundão and the districts of Praia Grande, Timbuí, and Irundi. The municipality's name originates from the Fundão River, which flows through the seat. The primary economic activity is coffee production, though the industrial sector contributes the largest share to the municipal Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
As part of the Caminho dos Imigrantes tourist route, Fundão is home to the Pico do Goiapaba-Açu, a granite peak rising where the Goiapaba-Açu Municipal Park is located. Praia Grande is a major tourist attraction in the region, drawing visitors from Minas Gerais and other parts of Espírito Santo. Between December and January, the festivals of Saint Benedict and Saint Sebastian are held in Timbuí and Fundão, featuring performances by congo bands.
History Origins
Fundão historically succeeds the former municipality of Nova Almeida. Nova Almeida was established on the banks of the Reis Magos River as the Aldeia dos Reis Magos on 6 January 1557, by Jesuits and the Temiminó tribe, led by cacique Maracaiaguaçu, father of Arariboia. In 1757, Nova Almeida was elevated to a parish and town, and in 1760, to a comarca. Due to various factors, from the 1820s onward, Nova Almeida's population, which exceeded 8,000 inhabitants, began to decline, leading to the town's decay.
The first Italian immigrants, the Agostini family, arrived in the current Fundão region in 1875 from Tyrol, settling in Três Barras (now Irundi). In the following decades, dozens of other families arrived in Fundão directly from Italy or were relocated from other regions, particularly Santa Teresa. During the construction of the Vitória-Minas Railway in the interior of Nova Almeida, workers perished in the waters of the Fundão River, named for its depth before the end of the 19th century. In the same location, at the Taquaraçu Farm owned by pioneer Cândido Vieira, the village of Fundão emerged.
Administrative formation
Various sources provide conflicting and contradictory information regarding the municipality's administrative formation. The seat was transferred to Timbuí in the early 20th century. The Fundão City Council's page and a message from Nestor Gomes, president of Espírito Santo, to the state Legislative Congress on 3 May 1923, indicate that the municipality was renamed Timbuí or Timbuhy. However, the 1920 census does not reference this name. Under state law 1,383 of 5 July 1923, the "former municipality of Nova Almeida" had its seat transferred from Timbuí to Fundão, renaming the municipality Fundão and elevating the new seat to the status of a town. The law took effect on 1 January 1924,ESPÍRITO SANTO (state). Law 1,383/1923: Transfers the municipal seat and elevates a settlement to the category of town. Espírito Santo Government: Vitória, 1923 when the Fundão City Council was inaugurated in the new seat. Contradictorily, sources such as the Enciclopédia dos Municípios Brasileiros and Fundão's own coat of arms and flag cite 5 July 1933, rather than 1923, as the municipality's creation date.
By decree-law of 2 March 1938, Fundão was elevated to city status. Later that year, on 11 November, the district of Nova Almeida was transferred to the municipality of Serra. At the same time, the district of Três Barras (now Irundi) was transferred from Santa Teresa to Fundão.
In 2002, municipal law 229 was enacted, proposing to rename Fundão to Balneário Reis Magos, contingent on a referendum approved by the Legislative Assembly of Espírito Santo.
Recent history The four most-voted mayoral candidates in elections from 1996 to 2016 (Gilmar de Souza Borges, Maria Dulce Rudio Soares, Marcos Fernando Moraes, and Anderson Pedroni Gorza) faced legal proceedings at some point.
In 2000, during his third term, Gilmar de Souza Borges faced allegations reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office, leading to an inconclusive parliamentary inquiry commission (CPI). From 2008, the final year of her mayoral term, Maria Dulce Rudio Soares was accused in multiple public civil actions and complaints by the Espírito Santo Public Prosecutor's Office (MPES), resulting in two convictions for administrative misconduct in 2012. Maria Dulce's 2008 re-election candidacy was temporarily suspended, but validated through an appeal. In the subsequent election, she was defeated by Marcos Fernando Moraes (PDT).
On 27 May 2011, Operation Tsunami led to the arrest of twelve individuals accused of corruption in the city hall and city council, including secretaries, councilors, and businessmen. The Public Prosecutor's Office requested the Judiciary to remove Mayor Marcos Fernando Moraes and Vice-Mayor Ademir Loureiro de Almeida (PSC) for administrative misconduct. Accusing councilors demanded the revocation of the involved politicians' mandates. On 30 May, councilors unanimously decided to establish a CPI to investigate evidence of irregularities in the provision of meal vouchers to city employees. On 1 June, Mayor Marcos Fernando Moraes dismissed the arrested secretaries.
On 3 June, the Judiciary removed the mayor, vice-mayor, and several secretaries and municipal employees from their positions. The city council president, Councilor Anderson Pedroni Gorza (PCdoB), assumed the role of acting mayor. Through an appeal, Marquinhos resumed the mayoral position on 3 August following a 29 July decision by the Espírito Santo Court of Justice. Due to allegations of irregularities in school transportation, the MPES filed a new request to remove the chief executive.
On 5 August, the Espírito Santo Court of Justice (TJES) reinstated Ademir Loureiro de Almeida as vice-mayor, but the following week, the Judiciary upheld an MPES request to keep Ademir and other defendants removed from their positions. On 31 August, a processing commission's report that would have investigated Marquinhos and removed him for 180 days was shelved.
The next day (1 September), Marquinhos and Ademir were again removed from executive leadership by the Judiciary, accused in a school transportation scheme. City Council President Anderson Pedroni Gorza assumed the mayoralty on an interim basis again on 5 September. On 20 October, Judge Pedro Valls Feu Rosa, president of the TJES First Criminal Chamber, upheld Marquinhos' precautionary removal through a preliminary injunction related to criminal proceedings concerning school transportation and the emergency hiring of the Ambiental company.
Due to his failure to submit public account balance sheets to the city council during his tenure, Anderson Pedroni Gorza was removed from the interim mayoral position on 1 March 2012, following the establishment of a processing commission. Additionally, a CPI was opened against him to investigate potential irregularities in school construction projects. He was notified on 6 March. On 7 March, the acting city council president, Claydson Pimentel Rodrigues, assumed the role. On 12 June, former interim mayor Gorza had his councilor mandate revoked. On 15 June, a complaint regarding alleged irregularities in the hiring for the city council building renovation, which would have led to Claydson Pimentel Rodrigues' removal, was dismissed.
In the 7 October 2012, elections, the last interim mayors, Anderson Pedroni and Claydson, along with João Manoel (DEM), candidates for mayor for the 2013–2016 term, were defeated with 37.43% of the votes by former mayor Maria Dulce, despite her first-instance conviction by the TJES for administrative misconduct due to overbilling.
On 26 March 2015, the city council rejected the 2011 accounts of former mayors Marcos Fernando Moraes and Anderson Pedroni Gorza, rendering them ineligible for eight years. In the 2016 elections, Anderson Pedroni Gorza, now with the PSD, was the most-voted mayoral candidate in Fundão with 8,564 votes, 77% of the total. However, due to his candidacy's disqualification, the interim mayor from 1 January 2017, until a new elected mayor's inauguration was the city council president, Eleazar Ferreira Lopes (then with PCdoB). After winning the supplementary election on 1 October 2017, Pretinho Nunes (PDT) was sworn in as mayor on 27 October.
In the 2020 municipal elections, after sixteen years out of office, former mayor Gilmar de Souza Borges was elected for a fourth term with 50.09% of the votes, against 47.45% for former interim mayor Eleazar Ferreira Lopes (Podemos) and 2.46% for Carlos Magno Barbosa Fracalossi (PSDB). In the 2024 municipal elections, former interim mayor Eleazar Ferreira Lopes was elected with 53.31% of the votes, against 38.84% for former interim mayor Anderson Pedroni and 7.85% for councilor Aélcio Peixoto (PL).
Geography The municipality’s area is , representing 0.6069% of Espírito Santo’s territory, 0.0302% of the Southeast Region of Brazil, and 0.0033% of Brazil’s total territory. Of this, is within the urban perimeter.
Fundão is situated in the Intermediate Region of Vitória and the Immediate Region of Vitória. It borders Ibiraçu to the north, Aracruz to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Serra to the south, Santa Leopoldina to the southwest, and Santa Teresa to the west, and is from Vitória.
Topography and hydrography Despite its relatively small area, Fundão extends from the coast to the Serra do Castelo, a prominent geographical feature in central Espírito Santo. Its terrain is highly undulating, with 61.53% of its area having a slope of less than 30%. The eastern region consists of lowlands and a nearly straight coastline, except for the Flecheira point, while the western region features elevations shaped by crystalline rocks. Located from the seat, on the border with Santa Teresa, is the Pico do Goiapaba-Açu, a granite formation rising , offering views of the region between Greater Vitória and Linhares.
The municipality’s soil is predominantly dystrophic red-yellow latosol and red-yellow podzolic soil, clayey, with medium to low fertility and a pH of 5.0. It has moderate depth, good drainage, and low susceptibility to erosion. There are patches of organomineral soils, poorly developed, typical of flooded plains, acidic, with considerable but agriculturally limited mineral reserves due to excessive soil moisture in gley and organic soils. There are also patches of sandy soil, deep, with high aluminum saturation, high acidity, leaching, low moisture retention, and very low fertility in their quartzose sands and hydromorphic podzols. Outcrops without vegetation also occur.
Fundão’s coastline is ideal for fishing and diving due to natural reefs. Praia Grande, one of the region’s most visited resorts during summer, has shallow, calm waters. At the mouth of the Reis Magos River, its estuary and a mangrove area are located. Less frequented by tourists and with fine sands, Enseada das Garças features restinga vegetation, while Praia do Rio Preto, on the border with Aracruz, hosts Atlantic Forest reserves.