Old Fig Tree
The city's symbol.
Ben Tavener — CC BY 2.0 · Andre Oliveira — CC BY 2.0 · Josue Marinho — CC BY 3.0 · Eugenio Hansen, OFS — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Otávio Nogueira from Fortaleza, BR — CC BY 2.0 · Joalpe — CC BY-SA 4.0
Praça XV de Novembro, or «Fig Tree Square» as locals call it, is Florianópolis's most important square, standing where the city was born: here Francisco Dias Velho founded the colonial town of Nossa Senhora do Desterro in the 17th century, and from here settlement spread across the island, even after the attack in which the founder was killed. The square's garden was laid out between 1885 and 1887; it bore several names, among them «Largo do Palácio» for its closeness to the government palace, before taking its present name in honour of the day the Brazilian republic was proclaimed. The square stood on the water's edge until the «Aterro da Baía Sul» landfill of the 1970s pushed the sea away. Its best-known feature is the «Old Fig Tree», a huge, ancient fig at the centre of the square whose spreading branches rest on props, a symbol of the city and its most famous postcard. Historic buildings face the square, among them the Cruz e Sousa Palace, home of the state history museum. It is an essential stop on a walk through the city centre, a few steps from the Public Market.
The city's symbol.
State museum.
Steps away.
Central Florianópolis
The «Old Fig Tree», the ancient fig at the centre of the square, a symbol of the city.
