Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro

The imposing Castillo de los TresSantosReyes MagnosdelMorro was erected between 1589 and 1630 to protect the entrance to Havana harbor from pirates and foreign invaders (French corsair Jacques de Sores had sacked the city in 1555). Perched high on a rocky bluff above the ebbing Atlantic, the fort’s irregular polygonal shape, 3m-thick walls and deep protective moat offer a classic example of Renaissance military architecture. For more than a century the fort withstood numerous attacks by French, Dutch and English privateers, but in 1762, after a 44-day siege, a 14,000-strong British force captured El Morro by attacking from the landward side. The Castillo’s famous lighthouse was added in 1844.