San Carlos de Borromeo Fortress
San Carlos de Borromeo Fortress, also known as Castillo San Carlos de Borromeo, is a historic fortress in Pampatar, on Isla Margarita, Venezuela. It was built in the 17th century to defend the town from pirates and was completed in 1684. Today it is a museum.
The first castle began around 1622, but Dutch pirates burned Pampatar in 1662. Construction of the current fortress started in 1664 under Captain Carlos Navarro, designed by military engineer Juan Betín, and finished in 1684. The fort and nearby La Caranta fort helped protect the town with crossfire. La Caranta was later destroyed by pirates in 1626; its ruins remain.
During the Venezuelan War of Independence, Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi was held at the fortress in 1816 while she was moved toward safety. On November 3, 1816, the Spanish evacuated Isla Margarita but a fuse intended to destroy the fortress was put out by a revolutionary soldier. In 1817, the Battle of Matasiete nearby saw revolutionary forces defeat the Spanish Morillo.
Architecturally, the fortress has thick stone walls, a square shape with four corner towers, a star-shaped base, and a moat that was never filled with water. Its coastal battery included about a dozen cannons facing the bay.
The site was renovated and reopened as a museum in 1968. Inside, rooms are exhibition spaces showing paintings of independence heroes, weapons, a replica of Christopher Columbus’s Santa María, and memorabilia of Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi, with the Battle of Matasiete being a popular exhibit.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:54 (CET).