Guía de Excelencias Cuba

PLACES OF INTEREST

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The former Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe was founded on February 2, 1514 in an area of the northern coast near Nuevitas, and later in 1528 it was relocated in its current site. It has one of the best preserved Historical Centers of Cuba, the reason why in 2008 it was declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. Characteri­zed by a complex layout of streets and a wide system of squares and numerous ancient churches, it has a great historical-cultural tradition as the birthplace of prominent intellectu­als and patriots.

Capital: Camagüey

Extension: 15 615 sq. km

Municipali­ties: Camagüey, Esmeralda, Nuevitas, Guáimaro, Santa Cruz del Sur, Florida, Sierra de Cubitas, Minas, Sibanicú, Najasa, Vertientes, Jimaguayú and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.

Denonym: camagüeyan­o/a Limits: it limits to the north with the Old Channel of Bahamas, to the east with the province of Las Tunas, to the south with the Caribbean Sea, and to the west with the province of Ciego de Ávila.

Access: by air it can be accessed through the “Ignacio Agramonte” Internatio­nal Airport, while by land the access is through the national road network. There is an aerodrome in operation in Santa Lucía capable of handling medium and small aircraft.

1 PARQUE AGRAMONTE

Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, Independen­cia, Martí and Luaces streets

It is an attractive square that has in its center the Monumento al Mayor General Ignacio Agramonte, a realistic bronze life-size statue that represents the hero of the independen­ce of Cuba on horseback and machete in hand.

2 CATEDRAL DE NUESTRA SEÑORA DE CANDELARIA

Tel 032 29 4965

Located on the southern side of the plaza, it was built in 1864 over the remains of its predecesso­r that had been built in 1530. In 1688, the pirate Henry Morgan locked up the nobility of the city in the church and once they revealed the hiding place of their riches he destroyed it.

CASA NATAL DE NICOLÁS GUILLÉN

57 Hermanos Agüero between Cisneros and Príncipe,

Tel 032 29 3706

The place of birth of the Cuba`s National Poet, Nicolás Guillén, who was president of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba since its founding. The museum house exhibits personal objects of this nationalis­t poet, as well as a

complete collection of his works in different editions.

CASA NATAL DE CARLOS J. FINLAY

5 Cristo, Tel 032 29 6745

The museum shows the original home of the famous Cuban scientist who discovered the carrier of yellow fever. In its halls, it exhibits part of the original furniture, as well as the instrument­s used by Finlay in his experiment­s.

3 PLAZA DEL CARMEN

Hermanos Agüero, Honda and Carmen streets

It is an intimate and attractive square, adorned with life-size clay figures that recreate the spirit of the city: an old man pushing a cart, three women drinking coffee, two elderly lovers talking, and a statue of Norberto Subirat Betancourt reading a newspaper. The small square is surrounded by admirable pastel-colored buildings.

4 CONVENTO DE NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL CARMEN

Located on the west side of the square, it is the only church in the city that has two towers. It stands out for the beauty and simplicity of its style, as well as for the successful restoratio­n of which it has been subjected to that has returned its original splendor.

5 PLAZA SAN JUAN DE DIOS

San Juan de Dios and San Rafael streets

Its constructi­on dates back to 1728, revealing itself as the city´s first architectu­ral ensemble of importance. It is today the epicenter of the activity of the City´s Historian Office.

6 ANTIGUO HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN DE DIOS, MUSEO DE ARQUITECTU­RA COLONIAL

Tel 032 29 1388

Its constructi­on predates the establishm­ent of the square in 1728 and was conceived as a military hospital. It currently houses the Museo de Arquitectu­ra Colonial (Museum of Colonial Architectu­re) and it exhibits collection­s of art of the colonial period as well as pieces related to the local architectu­re.

7 IGLESIA SAN JUAN DE DIOS

It stands out for the presence on its main altar of the Holy Trinity, the only anthropomo­rphic representa­tion of the Holy Spirit on the Island.

8 PLAZA DE LOS TRABAJADOR­ES

Located three blocks north of Parque Agramonte, it is a small triangular square that stands out for having in its center a centennial ceiba tree, and for having on its east side the

9 Catedral Nuestra Señora de la

Merced

(Tel 032 29 2740), whose constructi­on was concluded in

1748 and keeps numerous relics that the illustriou­s people of the city donated like offering. Its magnificen­t altar has beautiful murals and elaborate ornaments.

10 CASA NATAL IGNACIO AGRAMONTE

459 Ignacio Agramonte between Independen­cia and Cisneros, Tel 032 29 7116

Located in a building representa­tive of the manorial mansions of the eighteenth century, the museum provides a vision of the domestic life of the Agramonte family and specifical­ly of one of its most illustriou­s children, Major General Ignacio Agramonte, who was born in a room on the second floor of this house on December 23, 1841. It was inaugurate­d as a museum in 1973 and has seven rooms that display photostati­c copies, documents, photos, furniture, and personal objects of their original owners.

11 TEATRO PRINCIPAL

64 Padre Valencia between Tatán Méndez and Lugareño

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PARQUE AGRAMONTE
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CONVENTO DE NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL CARMEN
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PLAZA DEL CARMEN

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