Cartagena de Indias played a fundamental role in the Spanish realm´s domain of the New World, as an intermediate city and port for the repair and supply of the «Armada of the Galleons», which carried the goods extracted from the South American continent. The fortifications that surround the city and protect the access to its port were built during a period of over two hundred years, along with the urban development of the colony. Although the design principles for these fortifications are derived from the Italian and French schools of military engineers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the way in which each of its elements was finally constructed owes its location, form and materials to the specific conditions of the technological, historical and spatial context. The Cartagena defensive system proved effective against one of the greatest naval attacks in history and then continued to grow stronger until the enemies of the Spanish Crown considered it almost impregnable. For the students of the Taller Internacional de Arquitectura en Cartagena it is very useful to know the history of these urban pieces that determined the shape of the city and its current state.
Eduardo Mazuera (Colombia)
Arquitecto, Antropólogo y Magíster en Historia por la Universidad de los Andes en Bogotá, Colombia. Máster en Restauración y Rehabilitación del Patrimonio de la Universidad Alcalá de Henares en España. Postgrado en Montajes Expositivos y Museísticos por la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña. Asesor de la Dirección de Patrimonio (Ministerio de Cultura) en la formulación de políticas públicas para el manejo del patrimonio cultural mueble, inmueble, urbano e inmaterial. Profesor de historia de la arquitectura y áreas relacionadas con patrimonio arquitectónico y autor de artículos sobre el tema. Miembro del equipo de conservación del Parque Arqueológico Ciudad Perdida – Teyuna.