Sede da Fazenda Engenho D’Água, Colonial farm in Ilhabela, Brazil.
The Engenho D'Água is a former sugarcane plantation and processing facility from the Portuguese colonial era in Ilhabela. The site comprises several stone buildings, a residential house, production structures, and outbuildings spread across a hillside property.
The farm was established during the 17th or 18th century when Portuguese settlers began sugar production in Brazil. It played an important role in the economic development of the island region and preserved evidence of a vanished production method.
The layout of buildings shows how Portuguese settlers adapted their way of life to Brazilian soil. You can see how living quarters, work areas, and storage spaces were arranged side by side to support the daily rhythm of sugar production.
The site is accessible to visitors and features information panels explaining the historical production methods. Walking around the grounds is the best way to understand all the buildings and how they relate to each other.
The grounds preserve the remains of a mill system that used water power for sugar processing, which is where the place gets its name. This system was technologically advanced for its time and allowed more efficient production than manual methods.
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