Peru Guide
Lima
Fortaleza del Real Felipe
Telephone: 4658394
Opening time: Daily 9.30am–3.30pm
Price: $2.5
Dominating the entire peninsula, away from the rougher quarters of Callao, you can see the great Fortaleza del Real Felipe, located on the first block of Avenida Saenz Peña, Plaza Independencia. Built after the devastating earthquake of 1764, which washed ships ashore and killed nearly the entire population of Callao, this is a superb example of the military architecture of its age, designed in the shape of a pentagon. Although built too late to protect the Spanish treasure fleets from European pirates like Francis Drake, it was to play a critical role in the battles for independence. Its firepower repulsed both Admiral Brown (1816) and Lord Cochrane (1818), though many Royalists (Peruvians loyal to the Spanish Crown) starved to death here when the stronghold was besieged by the Patriots (those patriotic to Peru but keen to devolve power from the Spanish colonial authorities) in 1821, just prior to the Royalist surrender. The fort's grandeur is marred only by a number of storehouses, built during the late-nineteenth century when it was used as a customs house. Inside, the Museo del Ejercito or Military Museum (Mon– Fri 9.30am–4pm; free) houses a fairly complete collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century arms and has various rooms dedicated to Peruvian war heroes.