Located in the northeast of the State of São Paulo, the city of Brodowski, where the great painter Candido Portinari’s was born, has its history closely linked to the expansion project of Cia. Mogiana de Estradas de Ferro (Roalroad Company) in the end of the XIX century. In 1873, they began building the railroad stretch that went from Campinas to Mogi-Mirim, with a branch line to the city of Amparo, and later to the margins of Rio Grande, going through Casa Branca and Franca.

Cutting through the lands of Belo Monte Farm, between Jardinópolis and Batatais, the station “Engenheiro Brodowski” – later simply “Brodowski” – was inaugurated on September 5 1894. The name is a tribute to the Polish engineer Alexandre Brodowski, responsible for forwarding the request together with other farmers in the region to Cia. Mogiana and for the construction of the station.

Since then, the village started growing around the station, but the city was only politically emancipated on August 22 1913, through Law nº 1381, when it was promoted to the category of municipality. Presently, according to the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE), the population of the city is of 21,107 inhabitants.

Among the main exponents from Brodowski, besides Portinari, is the Brazilian jurist, writer and former Minister of Justice in the Sarney government (1985-1990) Saulo Ramos.