A short walk west along the Avenida Sete de Setembro brings you to the Forte de Santa Maria, the smallest of the three forts that form the defensive triangle of the Barra. Built in the aftermath of the Dutch invasion of 1624 — the Dutch took Salvador in May of that year and held it for a year before a combined Spanish-Portuguese fleet retook the city — the fort was reconstructed in its current heptagonal form between 1694 and 1702. It sits at the far end of the Praia do Porto da Barra, the most sheltered and swimmable beach in the city, with calm turquoise water ringed by the fort's stone curtain walls. The fort now houses the Espaço Pierre Verger da Fotografia Baiana, a permanent exhibition of photographs of Bahia — some 5,000 images spanning six thematic axes including Afro-Brazilian religious culture and everyday life — with rotating temporary shows alongside.