Franca is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is located in the northeastern portion of the state, distant 401 km (249 mi) from the state capital (São Paulo), and 676 km (420 mi) from Brasilia. It covers a total area of 605,679 km² of which 86,92 km² comprises the urban area. As of the 2021 Census, the city's population was 358,539. In Brazil, the city is known as ''The National Capital of Footwear'', and ''The National Capital of Basketball''. The city is the industrial and economic center of an urban agglomerate comprising 19 municipalities with a total of 672.053 inhabitants, being consecutively among the top brazilian cities with the best urban sanitation. The parish of Franca was founded in 1805, being part of Mogi Mirim until 1824. The city status was received in 1856. History The history of Franca begins with the bandeiras of Bartolomeu Bueno da Silva (The Anhanguera) in the 18th century. During the opening of the route known as "Caminho de Goiás" (route to Goiás), new settlements were established along the route to serve as resting / stopping points for the entourages travelling along the way from São Paulo to Goiás, in search of gold. The settlement where the city is now located was formerly known as Pouso dos Bagres (stop of the catfishes). In 1819, Franca was visited by French naturalist Auguste de Saint-Hilaire who dedicated the following message: "The village of Franca, where I landed, is pleasantly in the midst of vast pastures, in an uncovered region, sown by bushes and cut by deep valleys. This charming village occupies the center of a path of land, wide and rounded, on each side. bathed by a small stream. At the time of my voyage, there were only about fifty houses there, but the sites for the construction of a large number of them were already marked, and it was easy to see that Franca would not take long to acquire greatness. The parish of Franca was founded on December 03, 1805, being part of the territory of Vila de Mogi Mirim until 1824, when it was emancipated by João VI and named Vila Franca do Imperador in honor of the Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. It received the status of city on April 24, 1856. Around 1890, Franca was served by the Estrada de Ferro Mogiana, however, the railroad branch was