Situated upon a river island and surrounded by thick jungles, for centuries Vitória was nearly cut off from the rest of Brazil. At the turn of the 20th century, it was by far the smallest of any state capital, barely exceeding 10,000 inhabitants. But Mineiro magnates saw potential in Vitória, seeing its location as ideal for a new port from which to export their coffee and mineral wealth. Massive investment in the following decades culminated in the opening of a port in 1940, which is now the beating heart of a thriving trading hub. Vitória is famous for its natural beauty, with the city's delayed development having left the surrounding rainforest intact, and its lack of heavy industry making it perhaps the least polluted city in the country. For both of these reasons, in recent years wealthy Brazilians seeking to flee the smog of other cities have poured in.