Meet your guide and begin your tour of Fort Santiago, a National Shrine and National Monument since 1951, and a National Cultural Treasure since 2014. Learn about the fort's history, from its construction using volcanic tuff (adobe) between 1589 and 1592 to its role as a headquarters for the armies of several foreign powers in Philippine history, including the Spanish, British, Americans, and Japanese.

Hear about how Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi re-established Rajah Soliman’s Manila as the new capital for the growing Spanish empire in the Far East, while the fallen rajah’s wooden citadel was rebuilt as the headquarters for Spain’s military. As the city grew in wealth and prominence in its new place in the world stage, so too did Fort Santiago become established as a formidable symbol of Spanish power in the orient.

Learn about the first Spanish fort, a palisaded structure of logs and earth, which was destroyed not long after establishment, when in 1574 the Chinese pirate Lin Feng (Limahong) launched an almost successful siege of Manila. The Spanish army repelled the attack, but the fort, in realisation of its defects, was rebuilt in stone.