“LA TERRA NUOVA”: CLIMATE PERCEPTIONS OF ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS IN THE TAQUARI VALLEY/RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BRAZIL

Abstract

Italian immigrants arrived in Brazil at the end of the 19th century. In the Province of São Pedro do Rio Grande do Sul, they were destined for the territorial portion located on the Encosta Superior do Planalto, between the valleys of the Rio Caí and the Antas and, later, in territories currently called Vale do Taquari. The study aims to present the climate perceptions of the “new land” by Italian immigrants and their descendants in the territories of the current Vale do Taquari. The method is characterized by a qualitative approach with content analysis regarding data collected in the literature review, oral research and documentary research. The new land experienced by Italian immigrants and their descendants in the territories of the Vale do Taquari has a similar climate as a place of origin, with low temperatures and adaptation to the same crops, such as corn and grapes.