Portobelo is the port city of the Colon province, situated in Panama. Like the other cities in Panama, Portobelo city is also home to Spanish culture, art, and architecture. This is because Panama was a colony of Spain.
It was considered as the richest port during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The port city of Portobelo towers various dilapidated forts, which are the symbols of Spanish art and architecture.
Portobelo city was named the ‘Beautiful port’ by the great adventurer Christopher Columbus in the year 1952. But it was the Second King Felipe, who propounded to make the city a colonized port after it was invented and destroyed by Drake in the year 1596. Several forts tower the colonial port city of Portobelo. Fort San Jeronimo is the largest fort in Portobelo consisting of 18 canons. It is situated along the bay. Behind the fort is the Custom House, where stolen valuables of the Incas were hidden. Now it is a small museum. Church San Felipe is famous for its statue of Black Christ. Every year millions of people pay homage to the effigy and is a well-known place of pilgrimage during the Black Christ Festival.
The city of Portobelo is known for its shops, museums, churches, and restaurants. Travel to Panama remains incomplete without visiting this port city of the Colon province.