Old Havana is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site and the name also refers to one of the municipalities of the city of Havana,
Cuba, with the latter’s boundaries extending to the south and west beyond the original city. Although it is today a sprawling metropolis of 2 million inhabitants, its old centre retains an interesting mix of Baroque and neoclassical monuments and a ensemble of private houses with arcades, balconies and internal courtyards. Everywhere you look there is an unique image waiting to be recorded. Declared a World Heritage Site in 1982,
La Habana Vieja is one of the oldest settlements in the America’s - full of charming, weather worn buildings and narrow, intriguing roadways. Lots of ancient building are under repair, but unfortunately, money is not enough, so that in many cases these are just superficial external repairs. They won’t last, and every summer storm is causing severe damages to the buildings.
Havana was founded in 1519 by the Spanish. By the 17th century, it had become one of the Caribbean’s main centres for ship-building. According to the historical tradition, Havana was the last of the first seven villages founded by order of
Diego Velazquez. One
of his deputies, Panfilo de Narvaez, founded it on July 25th of 1514, baptizing it with the name of San Cristobal de La Havana, for the saint of the day and the indigenous district of Havana, where was established the village. On the XVII century, Old
Havana received two
Royal Graces and in 1665, the right to use its own shield, where were represented, with tree turrets, the castle (Castle of La Real Fuerza, Morro and La Punta) that then defended the city. After the urbanization of Plaza de Armas, this square stopped being the most important public space and it received the name of
Plaza Vieja. It is a porticated square with a lot of historical building from four different centuries. The most important of them is which dates back from XVIIIth century.One of Havana’s prettiest courtyard fountains provides a backdrop to this
romantic restaurant, that’s an Old Havana landmark. At the left corner on Empedrado street you will find “La Bodeguita Del Medio” home of ” mojito” drink cost CUC 4, this world famous and much copied restaurant immortalized by
Hemingway, has served up classic Cuban dishes for 50 years.
Castillo de la Punta seen across the Havana channel. The city’s first settlement was constructed on the western edge of
Havana Bay. The channel into Havana Bay is flanked by four imposing colonial forts constructed of coral-limestone. Two of these sit at the entrance to the channel - on the north the
Castillo del Morro, which now houses a maritime
museum, and on the south the
Castillo de la Punta, which contains the Museum of Fortifications and Armaments and is also the site of the nightly canon-firing ceremony.
Old Havana still houses vestiges of its origins, such as the Alameda de Paula, next to the port, the
Plaza de Armas and Cathedral Square, the Castillo de la Real Fuerza and the Morro and La Cabana castles, the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, the Palacio del Segundo Cabo, as well as the ruins of the walls that once surrounded it and the brick streets that have defied time in order to reveal all the greatness of the past.
