Fort San Pedro is a military defence structure, built by the Spanish conquistadors under the leadership of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The fort is located in what is now Plaza Independencia in Cebu City, the capital of the Philippine province of the same name. Construction of this fort began in 1565 and was completed only two centuries later in 1738. Today, this triangular bastion is considered the oldest fort in the Philippines, and it is also the smallest. Throughout its long history, Fort San Pedro was not only a defence structure, but also a stronghold of the revolutionary movement of the Filipino people in the late 19th century, a prison and even a zoo.
The fort is in the shape of a triangle, with two sides facing the sea and the third side - to the land. The "sea" walls were fortified with guns and a wooden fence. The fortifications of the fort were named La Concepción, Ignacio de Loyola and San Miguel. The total area of the fort was just over 2,000 square metres, the walls were 6.1 metres high and 2.4 metres thick. The length of the fence was 380 metres. The walls of the fort were of varying lengths, and the one facing the city, was the entrance to the fort. The fort was defended by a total of 14 guns, most of which have survived to this day.
Until now, relatively little is known about what activities took place on the fort from the mid-16th century until 1739, when King Philip II demanded detailed information about the island of Cebu and its fortified fortifications. At the end of the 19th century, the fort was restored as part of a programme for the for the development of Cebu City. During the period of American rule, the fort housed the U.S. military barracks, which later housed a school for local residents from 1937 to 1941. for local residents. During World War II, the fort provided shelter Japanese residents of Cebu, and after the war it was used as a military camp.
In 1957, the Cebu public was alarmed by reports of the possible demolition of Fort San Pedro - in its place it was planned to build a new city administration building. At the same time, a movement in defence of the historic monument began, whose activists reached the highest echelons of government. Fortunately, the fortress was saved but for a few years it became a zoo run by a local religious sect. By 1968, the walls of the fort and its facade were in in a terrible state of disrepair. In a short time, a plan was developed to restore the building, and it was decided to move the zoo to another location. The restoration process was long and tedious: in order to recreate as close to the original fort as possible, coral recovered from the seabed was used. After a year and a half later, the facade, the main building, the walkway and the roof garden of the observation tower were ready. The main building housed the office of the Department of Tourism, and the Lieutenant's Barracks, a museum housing documents, drawings and sculptures from the Spanish period. The inner courtyard was turned into an open-air theatre, and a park was built around the around the fort itself, a park with huge statues of Miguel López de Legazpi and the Italian Sea. Legazpi and the Italian navigator Antonio Pigafetta, a member of Magellan's expedition.
