CASTILLO DE LA REAL FUERZA

In 1556, King Philip II commissioned the architect Bartolomé Sánchez to build a fortress in the most appropriate place to defend the entrance to the port. Work began in 1558 and was completed in 1577. Until 1762, the fortress served as a residence for the captains general, before being occupied by the army. From 1899 to 1906, it housed the city's archives. It was again transformed into a barracks until 1938, when it temporarily returned to its archival vocation. Once restored, it became a national museum in 1977, for the celebration of its 400th anniversary!

The Castillo de la Real Fuerza is formed by a perfect square of a little more than 30 meters on each side, with a small patio in its center, in accordance with the canons of the Renaissance: everything here is regularity, order and geometric perfection. The castle is surrounded by a moat, and you enter through a wooden drawbridge... On the right as you enter, several bronze cannons from the foundries of Seville stand guard, similar in every way to those on the lawn of the Castillo del Morro in Santiago de Cuba.

Also worth seeing is the original Giraldilla, which since 2011 has been in the entrance hall near the ticket office. Today the fort also exhibits ceramics by the most important contemporary artists. There is a permanent collection of Cuban paintings: Rodríguez de la Cruz, Amelia Pelaez, Wifredo Lam, René Portocarrero, Mariano Rodríguez.