| Description |
It was built between the years 1638 and 1643 by the
famous military engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli and,
together with La Socapa and La Estrella, is part of
the defensive system of the Santiago bay, described as
the largest and most complete example of European
Renaissance military engineering applied in the
conditions of the Caribbean.
The objective of its construction was to safeguard the
city of Santiago against a naval attack. The proposal
came then from the governor of the province, Pedro de
la Roca y Borja; hence its name. And it was the
celebrated Italian engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli,
who had formerly been in charge of the Castillo de los
Tres Reyes del Morro fortification (Havana), who
directed the production and design works, in such a
way that they could take advantage of the defensive
and offensive possibilities of the ground on which it
stands: the hill by the Santiago harbor.
Reconstructed and renovated many times, it is
considered an architectural resource of unquestionable
aesthetic and historical value, where you can notice
the trace of the military art developed in Italy,
Spain and Cuba between the 17th and 19th centuries.
In December of 1997, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee
decided to include the San Pedro de la Roca castle in
the World Heritage List. Then, on 25 July 1998, the
city of Santiago de Cuba held the ceremony of
proclamation of San Pedro de la Roca as a Heritage of
Humanity. Mr. Bernd von Droste, director of the World
Heritage Center, invited to Cuba for this celebration,
addressed to those present the words with which this
colonial fortress –which he described as a “remarkable
example of Spanish-American military architecture"—was
officially registered in the World Heritage List.
At present, the Morro harbors the Museo de la
Piratería (Museum of Piracy), and for the immediate
future it is projected to integrate this site – and
its protection area –which also includes key Granma in
the harbor—into a historic-military park.
The installation has been declared National Monument
by Resolution No. 009 of December 25, 1979 and
protected by the National Assembly of People’s Power’s
(parliament) Law No. 2, “Law on National and Local
Monuments” of August 4, 1977.
The Castle –of great value from the historical,
artistic and scientific points of view— was placed in
its nominative record under the category of Cultural
Heritage, based on the fact that it is made up of a
group of separate buildings connected by their
architecture, homogeneity and site. It is a hallmark
of the city as well as a customary place for visits
and recreation, because of the beauty and majesty of
the fortress and of the environment where it is
located.
This site–a singular exponent of an important stage of
universal history—because of its permanency,
authenticity and exceptional nature, constitutes a
cultural heritage due to the harmonic integration that
comes from the interaction of Man's hand and Nature.
This concept is extended to the protection area, in
which there is a number of cavernous components
disseminated in a mainly natural environment, as a
cultural landscape, together with other works and
groups of patrimonial interest, such as La Estrella
fortress, the batteries of La Socapa, the La Avanzada
forts, the fort of Comunicaciones, the No.1 and 2, the
Morro Lighthouse and key Granma’s architectural
groups. |
|