For more than three and a half centuries, the only notable construction in Praia do Forte, Bahia (a beach now crowded with tourists), was a medieval-style castle erected in 1551 by Garcia d’Ávila, a treasury keeper on the Tomé de Souza expedition. The castle was situated on top of a hill, and its tower was visible to a distance of 19 nautical miles.
Throughout all that time, the greatest reference in the area was the Tower House, which the castle tower was called because there was always a fire lit in it for the light to guide the navigators.
In 1916, next to the coconut trees of Praia do Forte, but preserving its 12km of beach, the Garcia d’Avila Lighthouse was erected. In architectural terms, a Mitchell tower was chosen, the most widely-used at the time as well as the most appropriate to the region’s soil.
Two decades after that, however, due to the continuous advance of the sea, the structure of the lighthouse was much compromised. Despite the efforts made, and the numerous barriers made with overturned coconut trees, the salt waves of the sea continued to erode and threaten the base of the lighthouse.
Because of this, another tower had to be built. This new one had automatic equipment. However, this equipment almost disappeared completely because it was inside the buoy tender Faroleiro Wanderley that shipwrecked in Cumuruxatiba, on the coast of Bahia.
The current concrete tower of Garcia d’Ávila Lighthouse was inaugurated on 20 May 1971. As for Praia do Forte, it should be noted that near the lighthouse, a series of activities have been developed by biologists with the intention of preserving the sea turtles that live or pass by the coast’s vicinity.
Recife, 28 April 2004.
(Updated on 24 March 2008).
Translated by Peter Leamy, October 2016
sources consulted
SIQUEIRA, Ricardo. Luzes do novo mundo; história dos faróis brasileiros / fotos Ricardo Siqueira; texto: Ney Dantas. Rio de Janeiro: O Autor, 2002.
how to quote this text
Source: VAINSENCHER, Semira Adler. Farol Garcia d'Ávila, BA. Pesquisa Escolar Online, Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, Recife. Disponível em: <http://basilio.fundaj.gov.br/pesquisaescolar/>. Acesso em:dia mês ano. Ex: 6 ago. 2009.