Fuerte de San Diego

Acapulco


This beautifully restored pentagonal fort was built in 1616 atop a hill east of the zócalo. Its mission was to protect the Spanish naos (galleons) conducting trade between the Philippines and Mexico from marauding Dutch and English buccaneers. The fort was destroyed in a 1776 earthquake and rebuilt; it remains basically unchanged today and is home to the excellent Museo Histórico de Acapulco.