sold to Italian settlers between 1877 and 1892, when the last family of immigrants entered the Nucleus. The first group of families settled in the nucleus had embarked in the port of Genoa and arrived in Brazil on the Italian ship Europa. All the families were from the commune of Cappella Maggiore and its surroundings, in the province of Treviso, in the region of Veneto, northern Italy. In 1883 the São Paulo Railway inaugurated the station of São Caetano and in 1889 the government of the province reformed the Way of the Sea and the Old Way of Santo André da Borda do Campo, that from 16th century crossed the region, the tributary of the railway. Shortly before the Republican coup d'état was created the municipality of São Bernardo, dismembered of the one of São Paulo, and the greater part of the Colonial Nucleus and of the old district of São Caetano was attached to it. In 1905, São Caetano was elevated to Fiscal District. In 1924 the village became a city. In 1947, in a movement led by the Jornal de São Caetano, a list of 5,197 signatures was made and sent to the State Legislative Assembly, requesting a plebiscite. The popular consultation was held on 24 October 1948; 8,463 people voted in favor of autonomy, and 1,020 voted against. On 24 December 1948, the governor of the state of São Paulo, Ademar de Barros, ratified the decision and created the "municipality of São Caetano do Sul", through State Law n. 233, dated 12/24/1948, adding the qualifier of the South, to distinguish it from Pernambuco's homonym. On 30 December 1953, the County of São Caetano do Sul was created Geography São Caetano do Sul is located on a plateau that is part of the Serra do Mar (Portuguese for "Sea Range"), part of the vast region known as the Brazilian Highlands, with an average elevation of around above sea level – though at a distance of only about from the Atlantic Ocean. Neighbouring municipalities are Santo André (East and South), São Bernardo do Campo (West) and São Paulo (North). São Caetano do Sul presents the best social indicators of the whole country, a city considered exemplary in several aspects of the so-called HDI (Human Development Index) of the UN, ranking first in the list of Brazilian municipalities by HDI. Although there are no favelas, the municipality, even with all