The dissertation text analyzes, in three chapters, the development of the city of Petropolis, situated at about 60 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro, created in 1843 by the Emperor Pedro II. The first chapter deals with the history of the lands of the region called Serra da Estrela, crossed by the main imperial road, and attempts to demonstrate that the economic importance of the area determined its choice. The second describes the urban plan of the German engineer Julius Friedrich Koeler which creates the settlement, and tries to analyze it through approximations with planning theory. The third narrates the urban construction of the settlement after Koeler s death, which was then developed through ten consecutive years by five different Imperial administrations, and attempts an analysis based on the planning theories in the previous chapters. The text covers all the period of the Imperial Colony of Petropolis, ending with the elevation of the settlement to the status of city in 29-IX-1857. A narration of facts and events permeates it, demonstrating the constructive aspect of the Imperial enterprises, and also attempting to give visibility to little known details of the city s history.