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The baluarte: A lasting example of Spain's architectural legacy
If you look at a picture of an old fortress, with stone walls that remain solid but for gaps for cannons, you might think of Manila’s walled city, Intramuros. Or, if you are Visayan, you might think of Fort San Pedro in Cebu. Spaniards might imagine their beautiful city, Avila. Those in the Middle East might think of the North African city of Algiers. In other words, the stone fortress is something Manila shares with the rest of the Philippines, and the world.
In a recent conference organized by the Instituto Cervantes, Dr. Javier Galván Guijo, Chief of Staff to the Director General, talked about Spain’s influence on fortress architecture in the colonies.
The Baluarte de San Diego in Intramuros, a relic of a bygone age in the middle of modern Manila. Photo by B.F. Marchadesch
Defense
Guijo’s lecture focused on the baluarte, or bastion—a stone structure projecting from the outer wall of a fort built to withstand artillery fire. Baluartes, like many historical structures, “are now sculptures, because they no longer serve the same function. Now they can be UNESCO sites, symbolic of cultural adaptation in the colonies,” said Guijo.
Guijo attributed the birth of the baluarte to King Felipe II of Spain, who commissioned Italian engineers to modernize the fortifications of Ibiza in an attempt to defend from North African pirates and other invading Europeans.
The Spanish also built these fortifications all over the world, to protect cities in the territories they claimed, especially those in strategic locations—in Veracruz, Mexico; in Havana; and all over the Philippines.
Guijo spoke with much enthusiasm about the Philippines’ own Intramuros, which has some of the better preserved, classic examples of the well-built baluarte.
Intramuros is surrounded by a wide, open space so that an oncoming attacker would have no place to hide. Its walls are angled to absorb and deflect impact. And the baluartes—sturdy, thick-walled—project from the corners to protect the weak points of the walls.
Guijo also pointed out that Intramuros is unique in the fact that its perimeter is almost completely preserved. “The walls of Intramuros should be a world heritage site!” he exclaimed many times in Spanish. Only the part of the wall facing the river, he noted, is incomplete.
Intramuros shares many characteristics with forts built all over the world. Guijo noted that if you look at a picture of a Spanish-style fortification, it’s difficult to tell if it’s in the Philippines, Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean or even the North of Africa.
Students of architecture, particularly those interested in our Spanish heritage, might consider going around the world in forty days, if only to see baluartes in far-off places that look very similar to those in our own Intramuros.
Ramparts ripple outwards from Spain through to her vast colonies across the continents, beyond the vast seas, like so many barriers protecting the legacy of Spanish culture. And while all these baluartes share many similar elements, they also differ in subtle ways, showing us that while a single Mother Spain colonized us all, we adopted her culture in such beautiful and varied ways. — BM, GMA News
Guijo’s lecture focused on the baluarte, or bastion—a stone structure projecting from the outer wall of a fort built to withstand artillery fire. Baluartes, like many historical structures, “are now sculptures, because they no longer serve the same function. Now they can be UNESCO sites, symbolic of cultural adaptation in the colonies,” said Guijo.
Guijo attributed the birth of the baluarte to King Felipe II of Spain, who commissioned Italian engineers to modernize the fortifications of Ibiza in an attempt to defend from North African pirates and other invading Europeans.
The Spanish also built these fortifications all over the world, to protect cities in the territories they claimed, especially those in strategic locations—in Veracruz, Mexico; in Havana; and all over the Philippines.
Guijo spoke with much enthusiasm about the Philippines’ own Intramuros, which has some of the better preserved, classic examples of the well-built baluarte.
Intramuros is surrounded by a wide, open space so that an oncoming attacker would have no place to hide. Its walls are angled to absorb and deflect impact. And the baluartes—sturdy, thick-walled—project from the corners to protect the weak points of the walls.
Guijo also pointed out that Intramuros is unique in the fact that its perimeter is almost completely preserved. “The walls of Intramuros should be a world heritage site!” he exclaimed many times in Spanish. Only the part of the wall facing the river, he noted, is incomplete.
Intramuros shares many characteristics with forts built all over the world. Guijo noted that if you look at a picture of a Spanish-style fortification, it’s difficult to tell if it’s in the Philippines, Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean or even the North of Africa.
Students of architecture, particularly those interested in our Spanish heritage, might consider going around the world in forty days, if only to see baluartes in far-off places that look very similar to those in our own Intramuros.
Ramparts ripple outwards from Spain through to her vast colonies across the continents, beyond the vast seas, like so many barriers protecting the legacy of Spanish culture. And while all these baluartes share many similar elements, they also differ in subtle ways, showing us that while a single Mother Spain colonized us all, we adopted her culture in such beautiful and varied ways. — BM, GMA News
