A contribution to knowing Fort San Fernando de Bocachica, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Fort “San Fernando” de Bocachica is one of the most important historical construction in Cartagena de Indias, the Columbian strategic port town during the Spanish colonial period. It is a monument of great interest not only for both the various kinds of cracks surveyed and the constructive solutions observed but also for its variety of unique arches and vaults. This article presents the overall status of the building. A geometric and materic survey was performed from October 2012 to January 2013 as well as a careful analysis of the material degradation, structural failures and crack pattern. The structural analyses carried out on significant portions of the construction highlighted the need for urgent consolidation and restoration interventions. Specifically, this paper describes the first substantial results on the analysis of the room whose cracking pattern caused major concerns for the authors during the inspections: the necesarias (bathroom), a wide vaulted room with a T-shaped plan, whose structural problems seem to be the result of very “pretentious” constructive choices. Despite being a UNESCO World Heritage, today the fort is poorly attended by visitors. For this reason a functional upgrading is proposed, so as to turn it into a tourist attraction.