The North Coast of Pernambuco has one of the most important historical sites of the region.

The North Coast of Pernambuco is more densely populated than the South Coast, almost completely urbanised from the Metropolitan Region of Recife to the border with Paraíba.

The North Coast of Pernambuco has one of the most important historical sites in the Northeast region, with municipalities such as Olinda, Itamaracá and Goiana, which began to be populated in 1535.

Buildings from colonial Brazil, such as Fort Orange, are often visited by tourists passing through the region.

In addition to the beaches on the North Coast of Pernambuco, the region is also known for the Veneza Water Park, one of the largest water parks in Brazil, located on the Marinha Farinha Beach, a neighbourhood in the city of Paulista, in the metropolitan region of Recife.

The main beaches of the North Coast of Pernambuco are located in the municipalities of Paulista (Maria Farinha, Conceição, Pau Amarelo and Janga beaches), Goiana (Pontas de Pedra, Carne de Vaca, Catuama, Barra de Catuama and Atapuz beaches): Pontas de Pedra, Carne de Vaca, Catuama, Barra de Catuama and Atapuz), Itamaracá (Beaches: Itamaracá and Gavoa), Olinda (beaches: Rio Doce and Casa Caiada).

See the map of Pernambuco

Videos – Historic towns of Pernambuco

Tourist and Historical Sites of the North Coast of Pernambuco

1. Igarassu
2. Goiana
3. Itamaracá Island
4. Olinda

1. Igarassu

The small town of Igarassu, on the north coast of Pernambuco, a listed historical site, was founded in 1535 by the troops of Duarte Coelho.

Located about 30 kilometres north of Recife on the BR-101, the town has well-preserved 18th and 19th century houses. Among the highlights is the pinacoteca in the Santo Antônio de Igarassu Franciscan monastery, built in the 18th century.

Despite the lack of maintenance of the structure, the place offers a collection of artistic and historical value: 24 wooden panels painted in oil in the 17th and 18th centuries, depicting holy figures and historical passages, such as the scourge of yellow fever that ravaged the region in 1685.

According to tradition, Igarassu survived the outbreak unscathed thanks to the protection of São Cosme and São Damião, in whose honour Duarte Coelho built a church in 1535 (Rua Barbosa Lima, s/n).

Built of rammed earth, the Church of São Cosme and São Damião was plundered by the Dutch in 1634, rebuilt in 1654 and modified in the 18th century, giving it baroque features.

The paintings on the walls are almost gone. From the side, there is a touching view of the roofs of the houses of Igarassu (Rua Frei Caneca, s/n, Centro).

The Church of Santo Antônio, inside the Franciscan convent, is the best preserved in the city.

Built of stone in 1588, it was rebuilt in the following century, having been plundered during the disputes between the Dutch and Portuguese.

The high altar is made of cedar and has gilded paintings from the Joanine period of the Baroque. Tiled panels on the sides depict miracles and visions of the saint. The sacristy preserves a sturdy 18th century wooden chest of drawers and a stone washbasin.

1.1 Imperial Villa

Built between the 17th and 18th centuries, the Sobrado is one of the most remarkable buildings in the city’s Historic Centre. The Sobrado was built with funds from the meat tax in the then settlement of Igarassu.

The initial uses were varied, but converged on housing institutions of official power, such as an old people’s home, a prison and a town hall. In 1972, the Igarassu Architectural and Landscape Complex was listed in the Institute’s Book of Archaeological, Ethnographic and Landscape Tombs.

In the 19th century, the building underwent intense transformations.

The building was given neoclassical ornamentation, a style that arrived in Brazil under the influence of the French Mission in 1816 and remained dominant throughout the century.

Despite the changes, the essence of the 17th century architecture was retained.

These features can be seen in the interplay of full and empty spaces and the arrangement of elements in the stonework, which consists of blocks of rough stone carved into geometric solids.

The name Sobrado do Imperador refers to the visit of Dom Pedro II, who visited the building on 5 December 1859 during a tour of the Northeast.

The event helped to consolidate stories that the building was built in the 19th century, which is not historically accurate.

The building was only prepared to receive the monarch that year.

1.2 History of Igarassu

Some scholars consider Igarassu to be the first settlement centre of the country. The title of the second city founded in Brazil, after São Vicente, in what is now the state of São Paulo, is more widely accepted.

The city was founded on 27 September 1535, following the Portuguese victory over the Caetés Indians.

On that occasion, Captain Afonso Gonçalves ordered the construction of a chapel dedicated to Saints Cosme and Damião, today the oldest in Brazil.

On the top of the hill, a model of settlement began to emerge, materialising the Portuguese colonial administrative and religious power.

The creation of a square and a plaza bordered by a church, a town hall, a prison and other buildings with prominent properties and functions was the initial settlement structure that would be repeated in Olinda and other Brazilian cities.

There are two explanations for the origin of the name, both of which have an indigenous tradition. According to the first, it comes from the Tupi terms Igara and Assu, meaning “canoe” and “big” respectively. Historians believe the name comes from the Indians’ exclamation of surprise at the sight of the huge Portuguese caravels.

The other possibility is that it refers to three indigenous words: Ig = water or river; Guara = water bird; and Açu = large. Thus, Igarassu would mean Rio dos Grandes Pássaros (River of the Big Birds), also alluding to the boats that appeared on the coast in the early years of colonisation.

2. Goiana

The city of Goiana, on the northern coast of Pernambuco, is a prosperous city in the sugar cane cycle, about 60 kilometres from Recife and located on the BR-101 highway, in the Zona da Mata of Pernambuco.

Founded in the middle of the 16th century, it was conquered by the Dutch, served as the seat of the Captaincy of Itamaracá and was the scene of the Epic of the Heroines of Tejucupapo, in which women took up arms to defend themselves against the Flemish invaders.

It is also remembered as the first place where slavery was abolished, even before the Golden Law. The historical landmarks are in need of repair, as are the churches, which now operate at irregular hours.

The Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Homens Pretos is the most important, as it houses a Museum of Sacred Art with rich 17th and 18th century paintings.

Originally built in the mid 16th century, it took on baroque features in the 17th century. Highlights include the images of Our Lady of Amparo and Our Lady of Milk, long rejected by the Church for showing her breasts (Rua do Rosário, s/n, Centro).

3. Island of Itamaracá

The Island of Itamaracá, on the north coast of Pernambuco, offers a variety of attractions and can complement a trip to neighbouring Igarassu.

The Island of Itamaracá is about 50 kilometres from Recife (via BR-101 towards Paraíba and PE-35).

The island is home to the restored Fort Orange, a four-pointed fort (two facing the sea and two facing the island) built by the Dutch in 1631 and later taken over by the Portuguese, who renamed it the Fortress of Santa Cruz de Itamaracá and rebuilt it into the sturdy structure you see today.

Plaques embedded in the sand explain what each corner represents – such as the place where a well built by the Dutch was found. The fort also has a 16th century chapel and a small museum with weapons, cannonballs and porcelain (sítio Orange, s/n, Forte Orange).

At Ecoparque Peixe-Boi & Cia. has an oceanarium with nine manatees (Trichechus manatus), which is open to the public, and a rehabilitation unit of the Ibama Peixe-Boi Project, which is closed to the public and looks after calves rescued from strandings and reintroduced to the wild.

Students of Biology and Oceanography give explanations about the animal. There is an audiovisual room with documentaries, a souvenir shop and a snack bar (Estrada do Forte Orange, s/n, Forte Orange).

It’s worth taking a boat trip to Coroa do Avião, a tiny island with lots of little bars, just to see Fort Orange from the sea – the same view that explorers had in the 16th century ( Forte Orange beach).

The Island of Itamaracá is also home to the cultural space Estrela de Lia, created by the cirandeira Lia de Itamaracá.

On the platform built in an open hall facing the sea, on the beach of Jaguaribe, there are nightly performances of ciranda by her and guests such as Selma do Coco and Mestre Salustiano. The place has a bar where you can drink a delicious lemon juice with capim-santo.

In Vila Velha, a town that arose in the 16th century and was the administrative seat of the captaincy of Itamaracá, you can see a group of simple masonry houses, built near the old church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Rua João Paulo II, s/n) and the ruins of what would have been the church of Nossa Senhora dos Pretos (Our Lady of the Blacks). As the site is elevated, you can see the sea, the Canal de Santa Cruz and the Coroa do Avião.

In colonial times, this also provided a strategic view against enemy attacks – the town was invaded by Flemish troops in 1631, who would have baptised it Cidade Schoppe (entrance between km 9 and 10 of the Recife-Itamaracá road).

4. Olinda

The historic centre of Olinda, next to the city of Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco, dates back to the beginning of Portuguese colonisation in Brazil in the 16th century, when it became the seat of the Captaincy of Pernambuco during the golden age of the sugar cane economy. The architectural, urban and landscape ensemble was listed by IPHAN in 1968.

The city was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1982 and covers an area of 1.2 km² and about 1,500 buildings, which represent different architectural styles: Colonial buildings from the 16th century blend with tiled facades from the 18th and 19th centuries and neoclassical and eclectic works from the early 20th century.

The lush vegetation of the streets, gardens, sheds and convents, with leafy fruit trees, mango, breadfruit, jackfruit, sapodilla and coconut trees, gives the place the dominant value of an urban centre surrounded by a mass of green, in tropical light, with the beach and ocean at its feet.

The city maintains its relationship with the local landscape and the sea, with the characteristics of its vernacular architecture, a cultural manifestation inherited from Portugal, adapted to the environment and assimilated to the point of acquiring and maintaining its own personality over time.

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