El Morro on a sunny day, Havana, Cuba - Castillo de los Tre…

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Havana, Cuba - Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro (or El Morro) is a picturesque fortress guarding the entrance to Havana Bay (La Bahía de La Habana). Perched on the promontory on the opposite side of the harbour from Old Havana, it can be viewed from miles around as it dominates the port entrance. When it was built in 1589 in response to raids on Havana Bay, el Morro protected the mouth of the harbour with a chain being strung out across the to the fort at La Punta. Juan Bautista Antonelli, an Italian engineer, was commissioned to design the structure. It first saw action in 1762 when the English led by Lord Albemarle landed in Cojimar and attacked the fort from its rear. In the siege, a watchtower that once occupied the fortress was blown up (the lighthouse was not added until 1845). It fell because the English were able to command the nearby high ground so when the island was handed back to the Spanish, the fort at La Cabaña was built to prevent this from happening again.