Forte de São Sebastião is a fort in the
Azores.
The
Fort of São Sebastião, also referred to as Castelo de São Sebastião or simply Castelinho, is located in the port of Pipas, parish of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, in the city and municipality of
Angra do Heroísmo
Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the Roma ...
, on the south coast of
Terceira Island, in the Azores.
Built on a small hill that forms the extreme ESE of angra
bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
, in the historic center of the city, this fort was built in 1580 and represented a new concept for coastal protection, it was also the first major maritime fortification in the city. It crossed fires with the
Fortress of São João Baptista in
Monte Brasil, in defense of the port of Pipas, at the time the most important anchorage and shipyard of the island where they climbed the vessels of the Career of
India and the fleets of
Brazil, in transit to the
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also kno ...
. The importance of his position derived from the ease with which he could militarily close the bay of Angra. On Holy Thursday 1641, on March 28, in the context of the revolt against the dominant Spanish presence, it was conquered by the company of ordinances of Ribeirinha, commanded by Manuel Jaques de Oliveira.
Nowadays this historic fort is a hotel included in the
Pousadas de Portugal group which features iconic and historic places of Portugal. It is open for visits every day of the week, visits are free.
Construction
It was built at the suggestion of Isidoro de Almeida and designed by the
architect Tomaz Benedito de Pesaro to Italian taste. This fortress was finished in the time of El-Rei D. Sebastião, from which he withdraws the invocation. Demonstration of a new idea of coastal defense, already sensitive and aware of the new functions of port support, could cross fire with São Benedicto (Spanish name for the
Fortress of São João Baptista), on the coast of
Monte Brasil.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forte de Sao Sebastiao
Fort Sao Sebastiao
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
Sao Sebastiao