//
Photo: Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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.
La Fortaleza, also known as the Palacio de Santa Catalina, is the official residence and workplace of the Governor of Puerto Rico. Located in the historic quarter of Old San Juan in the capital city and municipality of San Juan, it has housed the governor since the 16th century, making it the oldest executive seat in continuous use in the New World. Built as a medieval fortress from 1533 to 1540 by orders of King Charles I of Spain and remodeled to its present Neoclassical style in 1846 by orders of Governor Rafael Arístegui, it was the first fortification erected by the Spanish on San Juan Islet to defend San Juan Bay, the harbor of Old San Juan. Alongside El Morro, San Cristóbal, and other forts part of the Walls of Old San Juan, it protected strategically and militarily important Puerto Rico, or La Llave de las Indias, from invasions by competing world powers and raids from privateers and pirates during the Age of Discovery and Sail. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1983.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Traditional entrance to San Juan.
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.
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.
El Morro
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.
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.