The Fortaleza Metropolitan Cathedral is the third largest in the country, with a capacity of hostingfive thousand people. It is a historical monument, located in the city centre, and stands out for its architectural grandeur, its beautiful stained glass windows and its Gothic-Roman style.

Fort São Tiago das Cinco Pontas [St James of the Five Points] is located in the present district of São José, near the old Santa Rita Bus Station. It is the last Dutch building in Recife and one of the most representative monuments of colonial architecture.

In 1631, at the southern entrance to the Santa Cruz Channel on the island of Itamaracá, Pernambuco, the Dutch built Fort Orange to protect access to the landing and embarkation of ships destined for the ports of Igarassu and Vila da Conceição (later Vila Schkoppe).

Engineer Luis Francisco Pimentel was tasked with designing the fort. However in 1707, during the construction of the fort, the engineer drowned in the River Doce. His original design, which was painted in watercolour, is at the Ultramarino Historical Archive in Lisbon, Portugal.

Fort St Francis was designed by master-mason and builder Cristóvão Álvares and erected in 1630 to defend the Vila de Olinda. In a quadrangular shape, the monument is architecturally simple and rustic, with small frames, only two small arsenals and some cannons.