The Fortress of São João da Barra do Rio de Janeiro (Portuguese: Fortaleza de São João da Barra do Rio de Janeiro), commonly known as the Fortress of São João or São João Fort,[1] is a 16th-century star fort in the present-day Urca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, erected by Estácio de Sá to protect Guanabara Bay from French invasion.

[2] The original fort was built in 1565 under King Sebastian of Portugal.

Its armaments were greatly reduced, and not manned, during Brazil's regency period, but emperor Pedro II ordered the fort completely renovated in 1872, and it was equipped with a complement of guns, bunkers, and batteries, including fifteen Whitworth cannons.

[2] In 1930, the Brazilian Army's Centro Militar de Educação Física (created in 1922) was transferred to the Fortaleza de São João.

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