Rodeio: Trentino History and Special Routes

Rodeio is officially recognised as the “Capital Catarinense Trentina” (Trentino Capital of Santa Catarina). The title refers to a defining chapter in the town’s history: Italian immigration, which contributed to Rodeio’s founding. Visitors looking for a holiday destination with specific cultural and historical connections will find memorial sites, a museum and a church with a distinctive architectural model. There is also a longer route lined with angel statues and a section of the Circuito Vale Europeu de Cicloturismo for those with other interests.

Immigration History and Architecture

The Monumento aos Imigrantes is located in Praça do Imigrante. Praça do Imigrante, also known as Monumento aos Imigrantes, is considered a historical landmark in front of Rodeio’s town hall. A list of 114 immigrant family heads is inscribed on the monument. They arrived in the Vale do Itajaí in 1875 and were sent to Rodeio to help establish and settle the town. The names and the number give the memorial site a specific historical connection: rather than speaking about immigration in general, the list points to families associated with the town’s founding.

The Igreja Matriz São Francisco de Assis also offers a clearly defined architectural connection. Its architecture is inspired by the Basilica of Assisi in Italy. For travellers interested in church architecture, this connection adds another link to Italy alongside the history of immigration. The Museu dos Usos e Costumes da Gente Trentina preserves thousands of objects and memories of the Italian immigration that contributed to Rodeio’s founding. It is located at the headquarters of the Circolo Trentino di Rodeio. The collection and its institutional home are thus directly connected to Rodeio’s cultural heritage described here.

Routes, Statues and Cycling

Picol Paradis is also known as Caminho das Hortênsias and Caminho dos Anjos. The route stretches for eight kilometres and includes approximately 63 angel statues, each two metres tall. Its length and the number of statues make this a different kind of travel option from the individual memorials and buildings: visitors who include the Caminho in their holiday plans can take its eight-kilometre distance into account. The approximate number of statues is a guide, not an exact count.

Cycling enthusiasts have another specific option: the Circuito Vale Europeu de Cicloturismo includes the section “Trajeto Rodeio–Doutor Pedrinho (Dia 04).” The name places Rodeio on a designated stage of the cycling circuit. This suits travel plans that include cycling, while the square, museum and church offer mainly cultural and historical points of interest. Horto Irmã Eva Michalak is located beside the Casa Mãe of the Congregation of the Franciscan Catechist Sisters in Rodeio. This site, too, can be included as a separate point of interest when exploring Rodeio’s places and institutions.

When choosing a holiday rental in Rodeio, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on during your stay: would you mainly like to explore immigration history and architecture, or are you more interested in the Caminho das Hortênsias or the designated cycling section? These different interests can shape your trip without requiring every traveller to focus on the same experiences.

More places to discover: Pingador, Grão Pará, Concórdia, Balneário Arroio do Silva, Coronel Freitas, Jaguaruna, Videira and Siderópolis.

For the broader travel overview: Santa Catarina.