View source for Charitas

{{Short description|Neighbourhood of Niterói, Brazil}}
{{hatnote|For the papal encyclical, see [[Charitas (papal encyclical)]]}}{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}[[File:Panorâmica do Parque da Cidade.jpg|thumb|Charitas at night]]
'''Charitas''' is one of the [[Neighborhoods (Niterói)|48 neighborhoods]] in which the city of [[Niterói]], in [[Brazil]] is [[Administrative division (Niterói)|divided]].

The area was part of the [[Jesuit]]ic [[Sesmaria]], where the [[Jesuits]] built a cemetery and a church consecrated to Saint [[Francis Xavier]].  The name of the neighborhood derives from the [[Latin]] word ''caritas'', meaning charity, which is inscribed on the church's door.

In the 18th century, a landowner donated to the [[Saint Joseph]] Seminar, in [[Rio de Janeiro]], the piece of land that came to be the [[Jurujuba]] Farm and upon which a mansion, known as ''Casarão'' (big house) was built.

In 1853, the Saint Isabel Naval Hospital was opened and originally run by the sanitarist Francisco de Paula Cândido, in whose honor the neighborhood was first named "Paula Cândido".  The hospital's function was to isolate the sick people that came with the ships that docked in Rio de Janeiro's harbor.  Later, the hospital was turned into a safe house to receive children that had been infected with [[tuberculosis]] known as '''Preventório''', after which the local beach came to be known.

In the 1940s, an aeroclub was built in the area.  It still exists and can handle small, private planes and helicopter landings and take-offs.

The neighborhood's limits are: the waters of the [[Guanabara Bay]], the neighborhood of [[Piratininga]] (at the Viração Hill) and the neighborhoods of [[Jurujuba]] and [[São Francisco (Niterói)|São Francisco]] (contiguous boundary).  Its territory is located in the São Francisco Ensenada, which is the land comprised between the ''Viração Hill'' and the shore.

The local population of approximately 3,854 (in 1991) represents 0.88% of [[Niterói]]'s total population.  A small [[Slum|chanty town]] exists on the ''Preventório Hill''.

In June 2024, the beach at Charitas was considered suitable for swimming, except for the stretch to the right of the Clube Naval.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 June 2024 |title=Veja as condições das praias do Rio e de Niterói para o fim de semana: Boletim de balneabilidade do Inea aponta 19 praias da capital liberadas para o banho. Condições do mar devem mudar a partir de terça, com a passagem de frente fria pelo oceano |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/3070977688 |access-date=2024-06-22 |work=O Globo |id={{ProQuest|3070977688}} |language=Portuguese }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Neighborhoods of Niterói}}

{{RiodeJaneiro-geo-stub}}

{{coord|22.92804|S|43.09525|W|source:placeopedia|display=title}}

[[Category:Neighbourhoods of Niterói]]