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  image by 
Ivan Sache, 
7 November 2021 
The municipality of Santo Amaro da Imperatriz (21,910 inhabitants in 2010; 
30,405 ha) is located 40 km west of Florianópolis.
Hotsprings ("caldas") 
were already known in the valley of river Cubatão in the colonial period, being 
named for their geographical location, "do Sul" (southern) and "do norte" 
(northern). The Portuguese soldier and writer Paulo José Miguel Brito, who 
attempted to settle in the vally as a landlord, refers to the springs in "Memória 
Política da Província de Santa Catarina", written in 1816 and published in 1829, 
emphasizing their healing properties. Manoel Joaquim de Almeida Coelho, in "Memória 
Histórica da Província de Santa Catarina", published in 1853, claims that a 
hospital was built in Caldas do Cubatão in the 1817-1821 period.
A Decree 
issued on 18 March 1818 and announcements issued on 22 October and 30 August 
1820 assigned a plot of 1.25 league to establish a new settlement. A chapel 
dedicated to St. Ann was erected near the springs, so the settlement was named 
Sant`Ana do Cubatão.
Provincial Law No. 16 promulgated on 12 May 1835 allowed 
the municipality of São José to build, near either the southern or northern 
spring, a house to be used as an hospital, including 12 rooms for ill people. 
Nothing happened, so Provincial Law No. 164 promulgated on 18 March 1842, 
ordered the municipality to build in Caldas do Sul, close to Ribeirão das Águas 
Claras (Clearwater River), a therapeutic bath establishment; subsequently 
increased and repaired, the building still stands. Marble baths were added in 
1847.
Gaining fame in the province and beyond its borders for their 
healing properties, the Cubatão springs were soon visited by the celebrities of 
the time. In 1843, Emperor Pedro II married Princess Tereza Cristina Maria, the 
daughter of the Spanish Infante, Maria Isabel de Bourbon, and of Francis I, 
Great Duke of Tuscany and King of the Two-Sicilies. On 1 March 1845, protocols 
signed in the Ponche Verde camp, in Rio Grande do Sul, put an end to the lengthy 
and bloody Ragamuffin War. A few months later, Pedro II visited the pacified 
provinces of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina; this was his first official 
journey in the Brazilian Empire. The Imperial fleet, composed of 10 vessels, 
left Rio de Janeiro on 9 October 1845 and landed two days later in Nossa Senhora 
do Desterro (Florianópolis). The newspaper "O Relator Catarinense" was set up to 
publish 10 daily issues reporting the imperial visit.
The monarchs 
visited the hospital of the Cubatão spring, whose patron was Tereza Cristina. 
Accordingly, the place was renamed to Caldas de Imperatriz (The Empress' 
Hotsprings). Several people came here to heal rheumatism, skin diseases and 
other pathologies. Later on, the chapel erected in 1859/1853 on the general road 
connecting Palhoça to Lajes, close to river Cubatão, was dedicated to St. Amaro. 
Provincial Law No. 371 promulgated on 29 May 1854, established the parish of 
Santo Amaro, later, Santo Amaro de Cubatão, separating from São José.
The 
dedication of the chapel to St. Amaro resulted, beyond reasonable doubt, from a 
collective, mental association, between the healing properties of the local 
hotsprings and devotion to St. Amaro, an Italian disciple of St. Benedict, 
invoked for long to heal arm and leg rheumatism. Celebrated on 15 January, St. 
Amaro / Mauro is the patron saint of people suffering from arthritis; St. 
Amaro's benedcition is still offered by the Roman Catholic church to these 
people.
In 1869, the parish had 3,153 inhabitants living in 425 houses; its 
territory also included the Santa Tereza military colony and various former 
colonies formed by German immigrants.
State Decree No. 184 issued on 24 
April 1884 transferred the parish of Santo Amaro de Cubatão, elevated a 
district, to the newly established municipality of Palhoça. Decades later, the 
district was renamed to Santo Amaro de Imperatriz, to be elevated a municipality 
by State Law No. 344 promulgated on 6 June 1958.
Appendix to Law No. 657 
promulgated on 8 October 1986
https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/sc/s/santo-amaro-da-imperatriz/lei-ordinaria/1986/65/657/lei-ordinaria-n-657-1986-dispoe-sobre-a-forma-e-a-apresentacao-das-armas-do-municipio-de-santo-amaro-da-imperatriz
Leis Municipais database
Ivan Sache, 7 November 2021
Gyronny of dark green and white, with the municipal shield in the centre.
Official website at 
http://www.santoamaro.sc.gov.br
Dirk Schönberger, 
4 August 2012
 
The flag of Santo Amaro da Imperatriz is prescribed by Municipal Law No. 659 
 promulgated on 15 October 1986.
Article 1.
The flag of the 
 municipality shall have the following heraldic description. Gyronny vert and 
 white, charged in the center with the municipal coat of arms outlined black.
 The arms of the municipality, established by Law No. 657 promulgated on 8 
 October 1986, shall be reproduced in the center of the flag, the outer 
 ornaments (mural crown and a scroll) omitted.
Article 2.
The features 
 of the municipal flag shall obey the following rules.
I - The flag's width 
 shall be 20 units.
II - The flag's length shall be 28 units.
III - The 
 flag's gyronny field is obtained by dividing the rectangle by four rectilinear 
 lines crossing each other in the center, one vertical and one horizontal and 
 the two other connecting the quadrilateral's angles.
IV - The first 
 triangle, or gyron, located in the right half of the flag's upper edge, shall 
 be vert (green), followed by a white gyron, and so on.
V - The distance of 
 the shield to the flag's upper border, the outline sable excluded, shall be 6 
 units.
VI - The field of the shield shall be composed of a quadrilateral of 
 7 units in length on 5 units in width, in base a semi-circle of 3.5 units in 
 radius.
VII - The lozenge shall be 2.5 units in width on 2 units in length, 
 with its center located on the shield's vertical axis, 1.6 unit from its upper 
 edge.
VIII - The lozenge's yellow border shall be 0.1 in width.
IX - The 
 yellow stripe of the lozenge first's field shall be 1 unit in length.
X - 
 The stripe azure (blue) superimposed to the yellow stripe shall be 1 unit in 
 length.
XI - The white stripe located in the center of the stripe is 
 inscribed in an imaginary circle of 0.4 unit in diameter.
XII - Each white 
 cross crosslet shall be inscribed in an imaginary square of 1.6 unit in side, 
 whose horizontal axis is located on the shield 1.5 unit from the upper edge and 
 the vertical axis 1.3 unit from the respective flank.
XIII - The white fess 
 wavy of 1.2 unit in width shall be inscribed in an imaginary rectangle of 7 
 units in length and 1.6 unit in width, whose horizontal axis is located 3.8 
 units from the shield's upper edge.
XIV - The fess wavy azure (blue) 
 superimposed to the fess wavy shall be 0.4 unit in width.
XV - The central 
 spring shall be inscribed in an imaginary circle of 1.8 unit in diameter, whose 
 center shall be located on the vertical axis 7 units from the shield's upper 
 edge.
XVI - Each of the lateral spring shall be inscribed in an imaginary 
 circle of 1.8 unit in diameter, whose center shall be located on the imaginary 
 parallel located 1.9 unit from the shield's vertical axis and 5.7 units from 
 its upper edge.
XVII - Each spring is formed of six fesses wavy, in turn 
 white and azure (blue), the upper fess white.
XVIII - The shield's outline 
 sable (black) shall be 0.1 unit in width.
[...]
XX - The shield's charges 
 and the flag's field shall have bright colors:
a - vert, matching Veronese 
 green or a similar color
b - yellow, matching cadmium yellow or a similar 
 color
c - azure - matching ultramarine blue or a similar color.
 
 https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/sc/s/santo-amaro-da-imperatriz/lei-ordinaria/1986/66/659/lei-ordinaria-n-659-1986-dispoe-sobre-a-forma-de-apresentacao-da-bandeira-do-municipio-de-santo-amaro-da-imperatriz
 
Leis Municipais database
The coat of arms of Santo Amaro da 
 Imperatriz is prescribed by Municipal Law No. 657 promulgated on 8 October 
 1986.
Article 1.
The coat of arms of the municipality shall have the 
 following blazon:
- An Iberian shield vert, a fess wavy argent superimposed 
 with a fess wavy azure in base three springs in chief between two crosses 
 crosslets argent a lozenge fimbriated or per pale vert a fess or charged with a 
 fess azure superimposed with a star argent and azure a fleur-de-lis or.
- A 
 mural crown or filled gules with four towers port gules.
- The writing 
 "Santo Amaro da Imperatriz" argent on a scroll vert.
Appendix.
The 
 field vert (green) symbolizes the resources of the municipality and of the 
 valley of river Cubatão, mostly agricultural, and the various annual crops that 
 contributed along years to its greatness and constant progress.
The fesses 
 wavy argent and azure (blue) represents the municipality river basin, 
 especially river Cubatão, so notable in the region that is named was given to 
 several places that progressively became the municipal territory and its 
 settlements.
The springs, represented in their characteristic, unmistakable 
 heraldic shape, stand for the "caldas", hot springs famous in whole Brazil and 
 for ages attracting visitors; in the 19th century, establishments of 
 therapeutic baths were built, which are still active, such as Caldas do Sul and 
 Caldas do Cubatão.
The two white crosses, of elegant profile, with arms 
 ending with smaller crosses (crosslets), represent the chapels erected in the 
 19th century to honor St. Ann and St. Amaro; associated with the river 
 represented by the fesses wavy, they recall the early settlements of Sant`Ana 
 do Cubatão and Santo Amaro da Cubatão.
The lozenge located between the 
 crosses and above the springs includes allegoric figures representing the third 
 Empress of Brazil, official patron of the Caldas do Cubatão hospital, which she 
 visited in 1845.
The lozenge is of the usual shaped for women's arms. Here 
 it is vertically divided in the center into two equal fields, the first charged 
 with the arms of the husband, the second with the arms of the father. Dexter, 
 the green and yellow field and the white star are extracted from the arms of 
 the Brazilian Empire, alluding to Emperor Pedro II, husband of Tereza Cristina. 
 Sinister, the golden fleur-de-lis on a field azul recalls the arms of the 
 family of Tereza Cristina as the arms of the Kingdom of Two-Sicilies, where the 
 princess was born on 14 March 1822.
Accordingly, the lozenge represents 
 Empress Tereza Cristina in a dual way: associated to the springs, it recalls 
 the name given for years to the famous springs of the municipality, Caldas da 
 Imperatriz (the Empress' Hotsprings); and, with the cross alluding to the first 
 parish and municipality's patron saint, it represents the official name of 
 Santo Amaro da Imperatriz.
The golden mural crown filled gules (red) 
 that surmounts the shield is the proper and consecrated emblem, in Brazil, of 
 administrative autonomy granted to municipalities by the Constitution; it 
 represents the town proper, seat of the municipality, constituted on the model 
 of medieval towns, surrounded by protecting walls. The four towers are 
 represented in compliance with heraldic perspective, that is, one in the center 
 and a half-one on each side, the fourth tower being concealed.
 
 https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/sc/s/santo-amaro-da-imperatriz/lei-ordinaria/1986/65/657/lei-ordinaria-n-657-1986-dispoe-sobre-a-forma-e-a-apresentacao-das-armas-do-municipio-de-santo-amaro-da-imperatriz
 
Leis Municipais database
The flag was amended by Municipal Law No. 
 1,157 promulgated on 4 December 1996.
Article 1.
The flag of the 
 municipality shall have the following heraldic description. Gyronny vert and 
 white, charged in the center with the municipal coat of arms outlined black.
 The arms of the municipality, established by Law No. 657 promulgated on 8 
 October 1986, shall be reproduced in the center of the flag, with a mural crown 
 and a scroll.
 
 https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/sc/s/santo-amaro-da-imperatriz/lei-ordinaria/1996/115/1157/lei-ordinaria-n-1157-1996-altera-disposto-da-lei-n-659-86
 
Leis Municipais database
Photos
 
 https://www.facebook.com/PREFEITURASAI/photos/1008338172855050 
 
 https://www.facebook.com/PREFEITURASAI/photos/1474323056256557 
 
 https://www.facebook.com/PREFEITURASAI/photos/1416348235387373 
 
 https://www.facebook.com/PREFEITURASAI/photos/1048838545471679 
 
 https://www.facebook.com/PREFEITURASAI/photos/999190157103185 
 
 https://www.facebook.com/PREFEITURASAI/photos/937238639965004 
 
 https://www.facebook.com/PREFEITURASAI/photos/937184726637062 
Ivan Sache, 7 November 2021
  image by 
Ivan Sache, 
7 November 2021 
The first flag of Santo Amaro da Imperatriz was prescribed by Municipal Law 
No. 72 promulgated on 17 November 1967.
Article 2.
The flag of the 
municipality is composed of horizontal yellow, green and red stripes, with three 
white geometric figures in the center.
Article 3.
A complementary Law 
shall give the meaning of the colors and of the respective figures.
https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/sc/s/santo-amaro-da-imperatriz/lei-ordinaria/1967/8/72/lei-ordinaria-n-72-1967-estabelece-a-bandeira-do-municipio-e-da-outras-providencias 
Leis Municipais database
The original Law was rephrazed as Municipal Law 
No. 593 promulgated on 14 December 1094.
Article 1.
The flag of the 
municipality of Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, prescribed by Law No.`72 promulgated 
on 17 November 1967, is composed of three horizontal stripes, yellow, red and 
green, charged with the coat of arms of the municipality established by Law No. 
174 promulgated on 23 September 1971.
Article 2.
A complementary Law 
shall give the meaning of the colors of the flag of the municipality.
https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/sc/s/santo-amaro-da-imperatriz/lei-ordinaria/1984/59/593/lei-ordinaria-n-593-1984-dispoe-sobre-a-bandeira-do-municipio 
Leis Municipais database
Ivan Sache, 7 November 2021