"Throughout its history, the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument has been closely intertwined with the city and the neighboring structures which served as the city's outer defenses - Fort Mose to the north and Fort Matanzas to the south. The Castillo and the town serve as outstanding reminders of the might of the early Spanish empire in the New World. Castillo de San Marcos took 23 years to build (from 1672 to 1695). Fabricated of coquina, a virtually indestructible limestone comprised of broken sea shells and coral, the walls of the fortress remained impenetrable through 300 years of enemy shelling and pounding by violent storms." |
