OLD HAVANA AND ITS FORTIFICATION SYSTEM

Old Havana, founded in 1519 as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the Americas, boasts the title of the most notable historic city center in the Caribbean. The Havana Bay was an obligatory stop on the maritime route to the Americas during the colonial era, making military fortifications a necessity to protect the city. Five plazas with distinct architectural character maintain the center’s unique pattern of urban settling, mixing some of the oldest colonial fortresses and castles in the Americas with houses and residential buildings in a variety of styles from the 16th to the 19th centuries.