La Fortaleza

La Fortaleza (English: "the fortress"), also known as the Palacio de Santa Catalina (Saint Catherine's Palace), is the official residence and workplace of the governor of Puerto Rico. Located in the historic quarter of Old San Juan in the capital municipality of San Juan, it has served as the governor’s residence since the 16th century, making it the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the New World. Built as a medieval fortress from 1533 to 1540 by orders of King Charles I of Spain, and remodeled to its present Neoclassical style in 1846 by orders of Governor Rafael Arístegui y Vélez, it was the first fortification erected by the Spanish on San Juan Islet to defend San Juan Bay, the harbor of Old San Juan. Alongside El Morro, San Cristóbal, and other forts part of the Walls of Old San Juan, it protected strategically and militarily important Puerto Rico, or La Llave de las Indias (The Key to the Indies), from invasion by competing world powers and harassment by privateers and pirates during the Age of Discovery and Sail. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1983.

Situated in the western end of San Juan Islet in the Old San Juan historic quarter, La Fortaleza, seat of the executive branch, is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Capitol of Puerto Rico, seat of the legislative branch, in the center of the Islet in the Puerta de Tierra historic district, and 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Supreme Court Building, seat of the judicial branch, in the eastern end of the Islet in Puerta de Tierra.