Dating from the mid-1500s, La Fortaleza (also known as El Morro) is the only remaining 16th-century structure in Puerto Plata, having survived the destruction of the city by the Spanish in 1605.   Unimposing in stature, yet impenetrable, its eight-foot-thick walls defended the city from invaders, and in later times served as a jail, protecting the then-Haitian-dominated island from independence-minded dissidents such as Juan Pablo Duarte, who would eventually lay the groundwork for a rebellion that established the Dominican Republic. 

A museum inside displays old weaponry and artifacts, while the turret offers a view of the seaside esplanade.  Alongside the fort is an 80-foot lighthouse constructed in 1879.  Its original neoclassical design has been modified since, including the addition of an interior coiling staircase (the original had disappeared nearly a hundred years later) providing access to the octagonal cast-iron cupola.

(Photo: Emile de Boyrie)