Niterói - Fort Santa Cruz

Avenida Carlos Emiliano, the continuation of Avenida Quintino Bocaiuva, leads to Jurujuba beach. At the end of the road Estrada General Eurico Gaspar Dutra goes off to Mt Pico, a closed military area in which are Fort Pico and Fort Santa Cruz (1565). Along with Fort São João on the Morro Cara de Cão opposite it, Fort Santa Cruz guards the narrowest part of Guanabara Bay. The main defensive installation of Rio de Janeiro in the colonial period, it is now occupied by an air defense unit. Some parts of the structure are later; the chapel, the prison and the Cova das Onças (torture chamber) date from the 17th century, the cistern from the 18th, the casemates for the cannon from the 19th. The fort is open to the public.