Cuba Guide
Santiago de Cuba
El Castillo del Morro San Pedro de la Roca
Address: 8km south of the city
Opening time: Daily 8am–7pm
Price: $4CUC, $1CUC extra for a camera, $5CUC for a camcorder
One of Santiago's most essential sights, El Castillo del Morro San Pedro de la Roca, is a giant stone fortress designed by the Italian military engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli, also responsible for the similar fortification in Havana. Named after Santiago's then-governor, though usually shortened to "El Morro", it was built between 1633 and 1639 to ward off pirates. However, despite an indomitable appearance – including a heavy drawbridge spanning a deep moat, thick stone walls angled sharply to one another and, inside, expansive parade grounds stippled with cannons trained out to sea – it turned out to be nothing of the sort. In 1662 the English pirate Christopher Myngs captured El Morro after discovering, to his surprise, that it had been left unguarded.
Ramps and steps cut precise angles through the heart of the fortress, which is spread over three levels, and it's only as you wander deeper into the labyrinth of rooms that you get a sense of how awesomely huge it is. Even when the fortress is completely overrun by busloads of visitors, you can move through the prison cells, chapel and dormitories – with accommodation for the 150 soldiers once billeted there – without feeling too crowded. The small, square tinajones water carriers and the twisted, blue balustrades in front of the windows add a note of distinction, while the room stacked with cannonballs and fitted with the heavy shaft that would roll them to the cannon illustrates the seriousness of the castle's business.
El Morro also houses the Museo de Piratería, which details the pirate raids on Santiago during the sixteenth century by the infamous Frenchman Jacques de Sores and Englishman Henry Morgan. Detailed explanations in Spanish are complemented by weapons used in the era, now rusted by the passing years. It's an interesting addition, but the real splendour of the castle is the magnificent scale, the sheer cliff-edge drop and superb views out to sea.