Dom Francisco de Sousa, general governor of Brazil (1591 to 1602), believing
in the existence of gold in the region, settled the Pelourinho—a Portuguese
translation of the English "pillory" - symbol of the Royal power - as
the village Nova Vila de Nossa Senhora da Ponte de Mont Serrat. When gold
wasn't found there, the governor returned to the Royal Court. Twelve years
later, Dom Francisco de Sousa changed the name of the village to Itavuvu.
Baltasar Fernandes, a member of an expeditionary group called Bandeirantes,
laid the foundation of Sorocaba in the 1654. The chapel of Nossa Senhora da
Ponte (which is
