Country
Brazil
City / Region
Macapá (AP)
Construction Date
In 1764, King D. José I authorized the construction of the fortress in the Vila de Macapá to replace the existing wooden fort. The construction was lengthy, delaying its completion by several years.
Conservation status
Listed by IPHAN (National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage), being the only federally listed property in the city. The surroundings of the fortress, although demarcated for protection, are architecturally altered in relation to the time of its construction. It has undergone recent restoration work, with a new phase initiated.
Latitude and Longitude
00°01′52″N, 051°02′57″W
Main characteristics
Initially conceived as a small quadrangular fortification with four bastions, the structure of the Fortress of São José de Macapá was expanded, becoming the largest and one of the most complex fortifications of the colonial period in Brazilian territory, with notable dimensions. It features a quadrangular plan with pentagonal bastions at the vertices, following the Vauban system, and has significant external defense works, such as a dry moat, redan, ravelin, and covered way. Built with black and indigenous labor, it was erected as part of the colonization strategy of the left bank of the Amazon River and to protect the northern border against invasions, especially French ones from Guiana, being the founding landmark of the city of Macapá with the original military function of territorial and river defense at the mouth of the Amazon. The fortification maintained regular activity until the end of the 19th century, when it was abandoned, returning to use in the 1940s after the creation of the federal territory of Amapá. In the 1990s, it underwent renovations and was opened to tourism. Currently, it is one of the main cultural and tourist landmarks of Amapá, houses a cinema room of the Cine Iphan project, and is part of a group of 19 fortifications nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status.
Source(s)
ALCANTARA, Dora Monteiro e Silva. Fortaleza de São José de Macapá. Rio de Janeiro: H.J. COLE,
1979.
ASSOCIAÇÃO DOS PROFISSIONAIS DE PRESERVAÇÃO AUDIOVISUAL (APPA). Restauro da Fortaleza de São José de Macapá entra em nova fase. APPA, [s.d.]. Disponível em: https://appa.art.br/restauro-da-fortaleza-de-sao-jose-de-macapa-entra-em-nova-fase/. Acesso em: 20 abr. 2025.
BRITO, Jaqueline Ferreira de Lima. A Fortaleza de Macapá como monumento e a cidade como documento histórico. 2014. Dissertação (Mestrado Profissional em Preservação do Patrimônio Cultural) - IPHAN, Superintendência do IPHAN no Amapá, Rio de Janeiro, 2014. Disponível em: http://portal.iphan.gov.br/pagina/detalhes/1132. Acesso em: 20 abr. 2025.
ICOMOS Brazil. Fortificaciones y Patrimonio. ICOMOS Brazil, [s.d.]. Disponível em: https://www.icomos.org.br/fortificacoes-e-patrimonio?lang=es. Acesso em: 20 abr. 2025.
INSTITUTO DO PATRIMÔNIO HISTÓRICO E ARTÍSTICO NACIONAL (IPHAN). Fortaleza de São José de Macapá (Macapá, AP). IPHAN, 2014. Disponível em: http://portal.iphan.gov.br/pagina/detalhes/522/. Acesso em: 20 abr. 2025.
INSTITUTO DO PATRIMÔNIO HISTÓRICO E ARTÍSTICO NACIONAL (IPHAN). Fortaleza São José no Macapá (AP). IPHAN, 2014. Disponível em: http://portal.iphan.gov.br/galeria/detalhes/234?eFototeca=1. Acesso em: 20 abr. 2025.
INSTITUTO DO PATRIMÔNIO HISTÓRICO E ARTÍSTICO NACIONAL (IPHAN). Fortificações Brazileiras. IPHAN, 2014. Disponível em: http://portal.iphan.gov.br/pagina/detalhes/1609. Acesso em: 20 abr. 2025.
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE SANTA CATARINA (UFSC). Fortalezas.org. Cinco curiosidades sobre a candidatura das Fortalezas a Patrimônio Mundial. UFSC, 2022. Disponível em: https://fortalezas.ufsc.br/2022/02/21/cinco-curiosidades-sobre-a-candidatura-das-fortalezas-a-patrimonio-mundial/. Acesso em: 20 abr. 2025.