Star-shaped ramparts
On the rocks.
Onesimo.santos — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mario Cesar Pereira de Medeiros — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gil Filgueira — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Leandro Neumann Ciuffo — CC BY 2.0
The Forte dos Reis Magos is the first landmark in Natal's history, standing on rocks at the mouth of the Potengi River. Work began on 6 January 1598, the feast of the Epiphany in the Catholic calendar, so it was named after the three Magi, and the city was founded around it on 25 December 1599, Christmas Day, which gave it its name, Natal. First built of earth, the fort was rebuilt in stone and completed in 1614 with a Portuguese engineer's help, in a star shape likened to Fort Jesus in Mombasa on the East African coast. From its ramparts you see the city, the river, the modern cable-stayed bridge and the ocean. Tickets are sold at the entrance only, and the visit takes an easy hour. The highlight is the walk along the ramparts in the sea breeze, so bring a hat, as the sun is strong.
On the rocks.
And the modern bridge.
Christmas 1599.
Mouth of the Potengi River, near the Newton Navarro Bridge, Natal
Because it was founded around the Forte dos Reis Magos on 25 December 1599, Christmas Day; natal means Christmas in Portuguese.