Posted by: Lane
Fort Orange It is located at the southern entrance of the canal of Santa Cruz on the island of Itamaracá. State of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. It was built shortly after the invasion of Itamaracá by the Dutch in 1631, according to project engineer Pieter Van Bueren. Fort Orange was named in honor of the House of Orange, the princes descended from William the Silent. At the end of the seventeenth century, already occupied by the Portuguese, the Orange came to be called Fortaleza de Santa Cruz. Initially built in rammed earth in the early eighteenth century, was covered in bricks and mortar by Portuguese engineers, retaining, however, tracing the original Dutch, with its four bastions. At that time, also won the entrance gate with Portuguese coat. The fort, which is still called Orange, is open to visitors, becoming the main tourist attraction of Itamaracá.