Forte das Cinco Pontas

This star-shaped fort was first built in earth by the Dutch in the 1630s and later rebuilt in stone by the Portuguese to guard the southern approach to Recife. Originally it had five points, giving it the name Five Points, though later remodelling changed its outline. Today it houses the city museum, whose collection of maps, photographs and objects traces the growth of Recife across the centuries. Its thick walls and moat sit amid the modern city, a tangible reminder of the fierce colonial contest between Dutch and Portuguese powers.