Castillo de
San Pedro Morro

The Eastern city of Santiago of Cuba, the first capital of the country from 1515 to 1607, had to defend itself from the attacks of corsairs and pirates attracted by the wealth of the island. That situation led to the design and construction of defensive facilities to protect the interests of the Spanish Crown. Declared Humankind's Heritage in 1997, the Castle of San Pedro de la Roca - also known as Santiago de Cuba's Morro Castle - was part of that defensive system in eastern Cuba, although its military impact was minimal due to a delay of several decades in its construction. According to history, the idea to build the fortress came from the then governor of that Eastern territory, Pedro de la Roca y Borja, after whom the castle was named. Construction works began in the late 16th century. Santiago de Cuba's Morro Castle, which has undergone reconstruction works on several occasions, is an architectural crown jewel of great esthetic and historic value that attracts thousands of tourists who visit the city every year. On its heavy walls and turrets, visitors can appreciate in all its magnitude the imprint of military architecture developed in Italy, Spain and Cuba from the 16th to the 19th century. Despite its minimum military value, due to the delay in its construction, Santiago de Cuba's Morro Castle treasures nowadays the main exponents of the Museum of Piracy, an exhibit of an activity that the fortress was intended to fight.

We visited Morrow Castle on Sunday, December 12th, 2004.

















































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