Itá

Itá, town, southern Paraguay. It was founded in 1539 as one of the original fort settlements of Paraguay and later became a centre of Jesuit missionary activity. Located on the southern flank of the Cordillera de los Altos (a highland that projects westward to Asunción) and on a headstream of the Tebicuary River, Itá is an important centre for the tobacco, oranges, sugarcane, and cotton grown in the district and for processing rum, edible oils, and leather. The town has primary schools and a high school. It is linked by road with the port of Villeta, on the Paraguay River and with the Ferrocarril (railway) Presidente Carlos Antonio López at Pirayú. Pop. (2002) urban area, 17,469.