The expression Casa Forte [Strong House] comes from the conflict that occurred on 17 August 1645 between Pernambuco and the Dutch. Casa Forte was the name of the historical plantation belonging to Anna Paes, a well-respected 17th-century socialite who was notable for her liberal views and personal.

In the past, today’s Entroncamento Park represented the intersection of railroads (the maxambombas) – from Arraial, Várzea and Dois Irmãos. The denomination Entroncamento [Junction] was given to it by the Recife population, in the same way that the name was given to the neighbourhood of Encruzilhada

Located in the district of Santo Antônio, in the heart of Recife, Independence Square was in the Mauritian City plan as Terreiro dos Coqueiros [Land of the Coconut Trees], where a large market operated during the Dutch dominion.

The small and triangular Joaquim Nabuco Square, located in the Santo Antônio neighbourhood, was named in 1915 as one of the homages to the great Brazilian abolitionist Joaquim Aurélio Barreto Nabuco de Araújo.

At the end of the 18th Century, to resolve the constant problems of flooding caused by tidal variations on the route that took the public from the Cinco Pontas Fort to the settlement of Afogados, Governor D. Tomás José de Melo ordered repairs to the previously-constructed embankment.