Ilha do Mêdo Itaparica Picture 1

More information on Ilha do Medo Itaparica Photo by: Alberto Beto

One of the smallest of the Bay of All Saints islands, with an area of only 12,000 square meters, Ilha do Mêdo Itaparica belongs to the city of Itaparica.  This island is uninhabited today because it lacks any source of freshwater.  It is the first Ecological Station of the Bay of All Saints and its predominant vegetation is lush with a forest of mangrove trees.

The island is shrouded in mystery and legend.  In the last century it housed military installations, barracks and also a hospital for lepers.  The old saying is that the island was so named (Island of Fear) for having been haunted house due to the leper colony, where terminally ill with leprosy and cholera were taken.  Another legend says that the priest in the district of Itaparica had received money to celebrate a mass and did not. After his death, his soul took up residence on the island and urged fishermen passing by to watch the celebration of mass.  Currently parts of the ruins can be seen on site.

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