Battista Antonelli

He is credited with designing fortresses in Spanish colonial cities in the Caribbean, including Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, Havana in Cuba, and San Juan Bautista in Puerto Rico.

In 1581 Antonelli was commissioned by the king to build a fortress along the Straits of Magellan, to protect this vital sea lane from attacks by English privateers.

The project, under the command of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa and Diego Flores Valdez, was a complete failure, founding a short-lived settlement named Rey Don Felipe (later called Port Famine), without any fortifications.

In Havana he designed the fortifications which culminate at the fortress of Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro.

His brother Giovanni Battista Antonelli was also a military engineer, born in Italy at Gatteo in Romagna, and died in Toledo, Spain, in 1558.