Dom Silvério

 Located in the Zona da Mata, the city was named to pay homage to Dom Silvério Gomes Pimenta, the first black bishop of the Catholic Church, who served in the Archdiocese of Mariana. In 1887 a railway station for the Leopoldina Railroad was constructed, connecting the district of Saúde, the region’s first name, to Rio de Janeiro and streamlining merchant transport. As a result, the nearly 600km distance between the two cities became traversable in just 24 hours, resulting not only in great trading progress for the region but also an intense cultural exchange with other regions.