Miguel López de Legazpi founded Manila in 1572, fifty years after Ferdinand Magellan claimed the islands for Spain. In what was to become the de facto capital of the country, the Spaniards built a walled fortress facing Manila Bay. Cannons atop its crenellated parapets, double moats, and redoubts defended the fortress, with adobe walls up to three meters thick. Within these walls (intra muros in Spanish), Spain’s wealthy citizens and bureaucrats settled, establishing a bustling city. The city was mainly built to repel attacks from Chinese pirates as well as the British and American armies. Filipino forced labor completed the city nearly 150 years later.

The pre-Spanish settlement of Rajah Sulayman was a wooden fort, on the ashes of which the Spanish fortress was built — Spain's major defense position in the islands. Also known as the “Shrine of Freedom,” in memory of the heroic Filipinos imprisoned and killed here during the Spanish and Japanese eras. Partly rebuilt from the ruins of World War II, it is now a park and promenade housing a resident theatre company — PETA — which has used the ramparts, old garrison, and small chapel as theatres for both traditional and modern plays.

Inside Intra Muros, you will also find Rizal Shrine and Fort Santiago. The restored shrine inside Fort Santiago houses Rizaliana items in memory of the Philippines’ national hero. José Rizal spent his last few days here before he was executed on December 30, 1896. Among the objects exhibited are various books and manuscripts by and about the national hero; sketches, paintings, wood carvings, and sculptures created by him; paraphernalia and souvenirs acquired during his travels abroad; and a collection of colonial-style furniture from his hometown in Calamba, Laguna.

(When the Americans took over Manila in 1898, they filled in the walled city’s moat and built a golf course. The invading Japanese, however, never played golf there.)