Fort Jesus

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Fort Jesus, Mombasa

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Location	Mombasa, Kenya
Criteria	Cultural: ii, v
Reference	1295
Inscription	2011 (35th Session)
Area	2.36 ha
Buffer zone	31 ha
Coordinates	4°03′46″S 39°40′47″E / 4.06278°S 39.67972°E / -4.06278; 39.67972
Location of Fort Jesus in Kenya

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Fort Jesus (Portuguese: Forte Jesus de Mombaça) is a fort located on Mombasa Island. Designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Battista Cairati,^[1] it was built between 1593 and 1596 by order of King Felipe II of Spain, who also reigned as King Filipe I of Portugal and the Algarves, to guard the Old Port of Mombasa. Fort Jesus is the only fort maintained by the Portuguese on the Swahili coast and is recognised as a testament to the first successful attempt by a Western power to establish influence over the Indian Ocean trade.^[2]

Cairati, inspired by Italian architect Pietro Cataneo, designed the fort, with the master builder being Gaspar Rodrigues. This was Cairato's last overseas work. Although the design of Fort Jesus is an example of Renaissance architecture, the masonry techniques, building materials, and labor are believed to have been provided by the local Swahili people. The fort, built in the shape of a man viewed from the air, is roughly square with four bulwarks at its corners and is considered a masterpiece of late Renaissance military fortification.