The central object of this work is the transfer of the capital of the Province of Piauí from Oeiras to Teresina in 1852 and living in the new capital of Piauí in the second half of the 19th century, a period in which Teresina was being established as a city and capital of Piauí. It studies the city of Teresina in its multiple faces, the urban layout, the first buildings, the formation of Teresina society, leisure and sociabilities and also education. Thus, the transfer of the capital and living in Teresina are investigated from the reports of the Presidents of the Province, Codes of Postures and bibliographical works. Building a new capital for Piauí was, therefore, the possibility of bringing to the Province the much dreamed of progress and a greater contact with the main centers of the Empire.