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GPS 36.946146229883205, -25.146902249270937

The Fort of São Brás in Vila do Porto, also referred to as Castelo de São Brás, is located in the parish of Vila do Porto, municipality of the same name, in the southeast of the island of Santa Maria, in the Azores.

In a dominant position on the site of Cimo da Rocha, next to the Hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, it had the function of defending this anchorage against the attacks of pirates and corsairs, once frequent in this region of the Atlantic Ocean. It cooperated with the Fort of Porto.

History

Santa Maria, even relatively far from the routes of the ships returning from the Indies and Brazil, was attacked several times by privateers (French in 1576, English in 1589 and Barbary pirates in 1616 and 1675) in search of supplies, who took advantage of the raids to loot and destroy manor houses, convents, churches and hermitages, and to capture prisoners, enslaved or, later, rescued from good price.

An analysis of the work of the 17th-century chronicler Gaspar Frutuoso, who described the most notable things on the island and reported the different incursions of corsairs up until then, does not show any reference to this fortification, which may indicate that it did not yet exist around 1586-1590.

Thus, it is believed that its primitive construction dates back to the beginning of the 17th century, or even to the second half of the same century, when Captain-Major João Falcão de Sousa, 10th captain of the donatário (1654-1657), exercised the position of Superintendent of the Fortification Works of the island.

In the context of the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1714) it is referred to as "The Fortress of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, in the Villa over Porto." in the list "Fortifications in the Azores existing in 1710".

A few years later, Father António Cordeiro describes the island's defenses:

"The defense of this Villa, & of the whole Island, was little before, since it has a league of posts through which it could be entered, & it was then three times, by Moors, English, & French; but later two Forts with fourteen pieces will be built in the Castle of Praya, & later a Fort with some; in the Villa, two Fortes with its artillery; which not only commands the Governor, & Captain Donatario, but immediately There is definitely an artillery captain with thirty artillerymen, in addition to the chief captain, officers, & ordinance personnel; who, when in most parts of the island, are by nature unconquerable, with someone who defends it from the rocks only with stones." FIGUEIREDO (1960) refers to the place and its fortification in 1815: "Castello de S. Bras in the Villa in the middle of the port with fourteen pieces, the two best of which belonged to the house of Captain Mor Francisco Barbosa de Sousa Coutinho, and those of the Castle, as they were already corrupt, required little work."

SOUSA (1995), in 1822, refers: "(...) The castle of Santa Luzia at the foot of the village on the slope in the middle of the bay, is its main defense. (...)".

The "Relação" of field marshal Barão de Bastos in 1862 informs that "It has a high barracks, kitchen and storeroom", but that it is "In poor condition".

Disappeared, in the mid-twentieth century there was a viewpoint on the site. Later the fort was rebuilt and reopened on December 11, 1966.

The premises of the "former Casa da Guarda" were used as the first headquarters of the Clube Naval de Santa Maria in accordance with the assignment protocol, by way of a loan for 4 years, entered into with the Municipality of Vila do Porto on May 27, 1990.

It is included in the Classified Zone of Vila do Porto, a set classified as Public Interest Property, by Regional Legislative Decree No. 22/92/A, of October 21, 1992.

In good condition, currently used as a public space and gazebo, the property is provided by the Vila do Porto City Council to the Motard Club of Santa Maria, through a Free Lending Contract, for a period of 10 years.

In 2012, requalification works were carried out on the initiative of the City Council, with the embankment and the outdoor area receiving a new pavement, in parallelepipeds.

Characteristics

The fort consists of a small bulwark with a trapezoidal plan with a circular guardhouse located at the sharpest point, surmounted by a semi-spherical dome in stonework topped by a pinnacle.

The enclosure defined by the bastion is bordered at the back by a two-story building, by the side façade of the Ermida da Conceição da Rocha and by the wall that unites them. In the wall there is a portal in stonework, with the opening finished in a depressed arch resting on imposts, surmounted by three pinnacles.

The Command House and Troop Barracks building, on a square plan, on two floors, is built in plastered and whitewashed stone masonry, with the exception of the corners, the frames of the openings and the upper finishing of the balcony, which are in stonework. The windows are double-leaf sash windows. It is covered by two parallel hipped roofs, in traditional half-round tile, topped by a simple eaves. Access is via a staircase and a balcony adjoining the main façade, with two doors on the front of the balcony providing access to the ground floor.

The fort preserves nine of the old artillery pieces and, in the center of the embankment, stands out a stonework pattern in honor of the crew of the minesweeper Augusto de Castilho, whose first group of survivors in a lifeboat docked to the island on October 16, 1918. This pattern, whose authorship of the project is attributed to the architect Raul Lino, was inaugurated on October 4, 1929. of the deed - "14-10-1918" - and, on the shafts, the verse: "AND AQVELES QVE POR VALEROUS OBRAS / SE GO FROM THE LAW OF DEATH LIBERATING" (Luís Vaz de Camões. Os Lusíadas. Canto I, stanza 2).

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