A weather-eaten stone cross on the edge of the bluff, set inside a small open-sided pavilion. It is one of the original Portuguese padrões — territorial markers placed by 15th- and 16th-century Portuguese navigators along the African and Brazilian coasts to claim land for the crown. The carved coat of arms is still visible on one face, though centuries of salt wind have softened the detail.
The setting matters as much as the monument. From the railing beside the cross the view runs the full length of the coast — the river mouth, the modern town strung along the shore, the ferry crossing to Arraial, and the line of beaches running north toward Coroa Vermelha. A short walk along the bluff connects the cross to the three colonial churches.