Crato

Crato is a city in the south of the state of Ceará, in the northeast of Brazil, on the banks of the river Granjeiro. It was founded on 21 June 1764 by the Capuchin friar Carlos Maria de Ferrara as a small village whose population was principally native Kariris, and it gained official city status on 17 October 1817. The Brazilian city was named in honor of a Portuguese town of the same name. It lies about 550 km from the state capital Fortaleza, and its municipality has a surface area of approximately 1,117 km2 at an altitude of 426 m. The economy mixes trade and agriculture, and the region is rich in minerals, especially gypsum and marble. Crato has its own Roman Catholic diocese and is home to the Universidade Regional do Cariri and campuses of federal institutions. The 2022 census counted 131,050 inhabitants in the municipality.