Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim Fortress
The Santa Cruz Fortress is located on Anhatomirim Island, today within the jurisdiction of the municipality of Governador Celso Ramos. Strategically located at the entrance to the North Bay, the fortress formed, in the 18th century, the first apex of the triangular defense system devised by Brigadier José da Silva Paes, the famous triangle of fire. Its construction began in 1739 and lasted for several years. Its architecture has traces of Renaissance influence with buildings that are sparsely distributed throughout the island of Anhatomirim and low stone walls, which only form the old artillery batteries, leaving the buildings visible in the landscape.
Most of the materials used in its construction are from the region itself, with the exception of stonework elements and “lioz” – a type of white Portuguese limestone found on door sills, staircases and some cannon bases. During the period between the two world wars, the fortification was militarily re-equipped with new buildings such as the Radiotelegraph Station and the Electricity Plant, and with modern weapons. In 1938, the Anhatomirim Fortress was listed as a National Historical and Artistic Heritage Site, being deactivated as a military unit after the Second World War. The Navy, owner of the property, still maintained a surveillance detachment in Anhatomirim until probably the end of the 1950s. After this period, it remained in total abandonment for years until it was rediscovered and restored in the 1970s and 1980s, in a joint action by the Federal University of Santa Catarina and the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute.
