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Menorca is an ideal holiday destination for those looking for some peace and quiet. Apart from beaches and partying, the history of the place cannot be ignored. Whether you are planning your trip in winters or summers, there are several flights to Menorca throughout the year. however, peak season sees a large crowd and you may have to book your flight well in advance.

La Mola is one of the places you can explore. It is located towards the north at the entry point of the Mahon harbor and spans about one square kilometre of area. Around the 18th century construction of a fort named St. Anne was started but was not entirely completed. The British then made up their mind to focus on modernising and enlarging the castle called San Felipe located towards the southern end of the harbor. Menorca after a few years was finally given back to Spain, after British rule was ended with the Treaty of Amiens.

With expected invasions from the British the Spanish Army began fortifying La Mola during 1847. Rivalry between the French and British, by the 19th century had grown tremendously and the same was quite visible at Menorca as it was the shipping route for the French and the British including the cities of Toulon, Malta, Gibraltar and Algeria.

La Mola consisted of some newly built structures but they were not finalized as they were not considered to be suitable for defence. After much speculation an ambitious project was finally decided and that stands in form of the fortress of Isabella II on La Mola.

The fort had a bastion system but it became obsolete and was removed entirely. Instead a polygonal structure was built consisting of two different sections named the maritime front and the terrestrial front. The terrestrial front was intended to defend the entry to the fortress using the beach while the maritime used cannons for defending the entry to the harbor of Mahon.

Montalambert was a highly talented French engineer who designed the casements to strengthen the fortification system further. The casements consist of spaces covered by brick chambers beneath a parapet and terreplein, offering a safe enclosure for men. On the inner side it had a wide moat, consisting of several levels for angled gunfire using the casements.

One more speciality of this design was the hornworks. These were located almost at the centre of the polygon. This allowed easy defence for the terrestrial front on the right side as well as in front.

After the design and construction of the fortress was done with, highly technologically advanced gun designs were thought of and this created a sense of uncertainty as to which ones are the best to install in the fortress. There were cannons such as the Krupp 26 cm and 30.5 cm, the Munaiz 15 cm and the Ordonez 24 cm. The fortress is a great place to explore the historical past of the place.