Number zero survey marker of the city of São Paulo, Geographic monument in Praça da Sé, São Paulo, Brazil
The Marco Zero is a hexagonal marble column carved from a single block from Cachoeira Paulista, standing on a two-step granite base measuring 2.20 m by 2.20 m and 0.15 m high. The marble block itself measures 1.13 m by 0.70 m by 0.70 m. Its flat top holds a bronze plate engraved with a city map and the names of the directions. Each vertical face bears black line engravings of places the monument faces, such as Goiás with a gold pan and Santos with a steamship.
This monument was inaugurated in 1934 and became South America's first geographic reference point following a proposal by journalist Américo R. Netto made in 1921. The creation established the city as a model for regional distance measurement systems.
Each vertical face of the marble block is engraved with the name and an image of a place the monument faces: Santos to the southeast with a steamship, Paraná to the south with an araucaria, Rio de Janeiro to the northeast with the Sugarloaf, Minas Gerais to the north with mining tools, Goiás to the northwest with a gold pan, and Mato Grosso to the southwest with bandeirante figures.
The marker is located at Praça da Sé, where multiple metro lines intersect, making it a central meeting point in downtown. Visitors can reach this location easily thanks to the extensive public transit network throughout the area.
The bronze plate on top repeats the six place names around its edge and carries a map of São Paulo in the centre, with Avenida Paulista, the Tietê River and Luz Station marked. The marble block itself was cut from a quarry at Cachoeira Paulista.
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