In Tupi-Guarani it means: A place where the fish stops

To our people it means: The ideal place to live

In 1766, the captain-general of São Paulo, D. Luís Antônio de Souza Mourão, appointed Antônio Corrêa Barbosa to be in charge of the foundation of a small village along the mouth of the Piracicaba river. The captain, however, chose another area located on the right side of the river falls where the Paiaguás tribe lived and some white men had already settled, 90 kilometers away from the river mouth. The village would be a stop for the boats going down the Tiête river and would also provide food supply to the Iguatemi fortress on the Paraguay borders.

On August 1, 1767, with the blessings of Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres and ruled by Itu Village, Piracicaba was officialy founded. In 1774, the village of Piracicaba had a population of 230 and obtained its independence from Itu on June 21.

In 1784 Piracicaba was moved to the left margin of the river, right down the fall, where the land was more appropriate for its expansion. The good soil attracted many farmers thus a great competition for land. In 1821 the Portuguese Constitution came into effect and on November 29 Piracicaba was officially considered a village and renamed Vila Nova da Constituição as a tribute to the Portuguese Constitution.

But the city's real development ocurred after 1836. Most of the land had been divided into small farms. Coffee, rice, beans, corn, cotton and tobacco were grown and much of the farmland was used to raise cattle. Piracicaba had become a known center for food supply.