On the southern coast of the state of Bahia, Porto Seguro is an important historical landmark, being the place where Brazil was discovered. Together with Trancoso, Arraial d'Ajuda and Santa Cruz Cabrália, it forms the Rectangle of Discovery, the place where President Fernando Henrique Cardoso founded the Open Museum of Discovery (M.a.d.e), by means of the decree signed on the 22nd April 1996.
Bounded within an area of 1.2 thousand km2, the M.a.d.e region protects Monte Pascoal (the first place sighted in Brazil in 1500), a reserve of the Atlantic Rain Forest and the Coroa Vermelha, the place where the first Masses were celebrated. The area contains over 25 miles of almost virgin beaches. In this rectangle are also preserved 80% of what was described in the letter from Pero Vaz de Caminha to the King of Portugal, telling of the discovery of the new land. The area under conservation order constitutes a cultural heritage, since the landscape recalls much of that which existed in 1500, as if it were a painting which visitors can enjoy in a museum.