The Fort of Urzelina

The Urzelina Fort, also known as "Castelinho" was built to protect the Urzelina pier from pirate and privateer incursions, having in mind the importance of maritime communication between villages and localities on the island of São Jorge. Its construction began in 1647 and was integrated in the great plan of fortification of the island of São Jorge, carried out by Marcos de Teive.

Its degradation is linked to some natural disasters such as the volcanic eruption in Urzelina in 1808 - "The Mystery of Urzelina" - or the flood of 1899 that caused a lot of damage on the wharf and pier of Urzelina.

Its bulging and adapted plant to the ground is very easy to spot and its in good condition of conservation. It presents three unequal curtains with four canhoeiras (gun ports) and furthermore the house of the guard, with some alterations suffered at the end of century XX.