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Photo: Chad Sparkes from Kissimmee,Florida, United States, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A 16th-century citadel that lies on the northwestern-most point of the islet of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is part of San Juan National Historic Site and was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1983.
Castillo San Felipe del Morro, most commonly known as El Morro, is a large fortress and citadel in the Old San Juan historic quarter of San Juan, the capital city and municipality of Puerto Rico. Commissioned by King Charles I of Spain in 1539, it was first built as a fortified tower in honor of King Philip II, who oversaw its expansion into a hornwork bastion fort by 1595. Over the next 200 years, especially in the reign of King Charles III, El Morro continued to be developed to reach its current form in 1787. Rising 43 metres (140 ft) from the Atlantic shoreline with 5.5 to 7.6 metres thick walls, the six-leveled edifice stands on a steep, rocky headland promontory on San Juan Islet guarding the entry to San Juan Bay, the harbor of Old San Juan. El Morro, alongside La Fortaleza, San Cristóbal, El Cañuelo, and other forts part of the Walls of Old San Juan, protected strategically and militarily important Puerto Rico, or La Llave de las Indias, from invasion by competing world powers during the Age of Discovery and Sail. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Ballaja Barracks
Completed in 1863, and in 1881 a chapel was added. This building housed military personnel and is now a museum called Las Americas Museum containing Caribbean and European American arts and artifacts.
Built in 1523, when it was called the Church and Monastery of Saint Thomas Aquinas. It is the second oldest church in continuous use in the New World and the oldest in the United States. Before Ponce de Leon was moved to the San Juan Cathedral, his body was buried here for 300 years.
or the Palacio de Santa Catalina, "La Fortaleza" (or The Fortress in English) is the official residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico, who is Puerto Rico's head of Government. It was built between 1533 and 1540 to defend the harbor of San Juan. The structure is also known as El Palacio de Santa Catalina (or Palace of Santa Catalina). It is the oldest executive mansion in the New World. La Fortaleza was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Traditional entrance to San Juan.
Museo y Parque Historico Ruinas de Caparra
Caparra was the first Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico. It was put several miles inland to keep it protected from pirates. The site is the ruins of the house/fort of Puerto Rico's first governor, Juan Ponce de León. A small museum displays some of the excavated artifacts. The displays are all in Spanish, though they do have a summary page in English upon request.