Havana Castle Of The Royal Force

This guide to the Castle of the Royal Force in Havana is anchored by the bronze weathervane on its tower, La Giraldilla, and the woman it depicts, Isabel de Bobadilla. It follows her marriage in fifteen thirty-seven to the conquistador Hernando de Soto, his departure two years later to chase rumors of gold in Florida, and her rule as the first woman to govern a colony in the Americas while pushing forward construction of the fort beside you. Listen for the wind off the harbor as you look up at her, still turning above the tower where she once stood in the flesh.