the fort has a collection of of 55 cannons from the eighteenth and the nineteenth century, along with a chapel built in 1612, with an eighteenth century picture of santa bárbara.

of the many fortresses erected in and around rio de janeiro since the sixteenth century, the fortaleza da barra de santa cruz is perhaps the most significant. the fortress is considered important for several reasons - its location on the edge of a cliff offers an ideal vantage point of the city's port.