Centro (Florianópolis) Travel Guide - Free

The area now known as Centro grew from the settlement of Nossa Senhora do Desterro, founded by Portuguese settlers in the eighteenth century on the island’s sheltered western side. Its position beside the harbour made it the natural location for administration, religious buildings, trade and connections with the mainland. Streets and civic spaces developed around the early settlement, while the waterfront supported boats, warehouses and the movement of goods. When the city was renamed Florianópolis in 1894, following the political upheavals of the early Republic, the historic core remained the seat of government and the principal urban meeting place.

During the nineteenth century, Centro became more formally organised around public institutions and commercial activity. The former customs house, completed in 1875 and now known as Casa da Alfândega, reflects the importance of maritime trade, while the Public Market developed as a central place for food and everyday commerce. The area’s churches, government buildings and merchant premises established the architectural framework still visible around Praça XV de Novembro, Largo da Alfândega and the streets leading towards the harbour. These buildings connected local trade with wider coastal networks linking Santa Catarina to other Brazilian ports.

The twentieth century brought major changes to the centre’s relationship with the mainland. The Hercílio Luz Bridge, opened in 1926, created the first permanent land connection between the island and the mainland and transformed movement through the city. As roads, buses and later large-scale urban development expanded, parts of the old port edge were altered or reclaimed, while commercial activity spread along streets such as Felipe Schmidt. The historic centre nevertheless retained its role as Florianópolis’s administrative and retail core, with modern buildings appearing beside older churches, civic structures and market halls.

From the late twentieth century onwards, preservation efforts increasingly shaped the identity of Centro. Restoration and cultural reuse gave renewed prominence to buildings such as the former Government Palace, Casa da Alfândega and the Museu Victor Meirelles, while public improvements around the market and historic squares encouraged visitors to explore the old centre on foot. At the same time, offices, traffic, changing retail patterns and redevelopment have altered the area’s daily population. Centro now combines a protected architectural inheritance with the practical functions of a regional capital, and its waterfront continues to evolve as public space rather than solely as a port edge.