Fort Santiago is a citadel first built by Spanish conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi for the new
established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is part of the structures of the walled city
of Manila referred to as Intramuros.
The fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Several lives were lost in its prisons during
the Spanish Colonial Period and World War II. Jose Rizal, the Philippine national hero, was imprisoned here
before his execution in 1896. The Rizal Shrine museum displays memorabilia of the hero in their collection and
the fort features, embedded onto the ground in bronze, his footsteps representing his final walk from his cell
to the location of the actual execution.