Fuerte de San Pedro: First Spanish Fort In The Philippines

Facade of Fort San Pedro - image source: cebudiving.com

Fuerte de San Pedro, or Fort San Pedro as it is popularly known, is another tourist attraction in the Queen City of the South. Located less than a kilometer away from Magellan’s Cross, Fort San Pedro is the oldest fort in the Philippines. The first governor of the Captaincy General of the Philippines, Miguel López de Legazpi, ordered the construction of the fort after his arrival in Cebu in 1565. Originally made of wood, it was later replaced with a stone fort in the 17th century. 

Miguel López de Legazpi - image source: pinterest.com

Two of the sides of this triangular fort face the sea while the third side faces land. Artillery defended the two sides facing the sea while the side facing land was protected by a wooden palisade. It has thee bastions, San Miguel, La Concepcion and Ignacio de Loyola. 

One of the surviving cannons at Fort San Pedro - image source: tripadvisor.com

Fort San Pedro is the smallest fort in the country covering 2,025 square meters or 21,800 square feet. The walls are 8 feet thick and 20 feet high. It was designed to protect the Spanish settlement in Cebu from raiders and pirates with its fourteen cannons. Most of these cannons can still be found on the fort. 

Inside Fort San Pedro - image source: ilink.ph

During the time of the Americans, the fort became a part of the American Warwick barracks and was also used as a school.  In the Second World War, Fort San Pedro served as a refuge for Japanese residents in Cebu. During the battle for the liberation of the city, it was used as a hospital to treat the wounded.  After the war, Fort San Pedro was used as an army camp before it was fixed by the Cebu Garden Club, which converted it into a garden.

A view from outside the walls of Fort San Pedro - image source: geocities.ws

Currently, the fort houses a number of well-preserved Spanish artifacts, including paintings, sculpture and documents. The statues of Antonio Pigafetta and Legazpi stand just outside the walls of the fort. Images depicting the rich history of the fort line the walls of the entrance. As tourists enter the fort, they are greeted by a beautiful garden and sweet melodies played by blind musicians, which is in stark contrast to the violence the fort witnessed throughout its nearly five hundred-year history. 

Statue of Miguel López de Legazpi - image source: flickr.com

Fort San Pedro is open from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM.