La Loma Fort (Salcedo Castle)
La Loma Fort or the Salcedo Castle present an uncommon architecture in Latin America which constitutes, at the same time, one of the most important historical monuments in Puerto Padre and the whole province of Las Tunas. The antique and preserved military building, being raised by Spanish engineers in two stages around the late XIX century. The fort was raised in a strategic place, where its height allowed to look after the bay and the whole Northern population, while the South was custody by the nearby crops and fields. The building acquired an important role since the beginnings of the Independence War in 1868. After the end of the war, the fortress was abandoned until 1895, when the Spaniards began their reconstruction due to the new war uprising. Almost a century later, the 4th November 1981, La Loma Fort has been declared National Monument by the Ministry of Culture Heritage National Direction of Heritage, bringing justice this way to the long history of the building. By the end of the 90s its restoration was finished, being opened to the public as a museum in December 1999.