SEVEN OF THE TEN FIRST VILLAS FOUNDED IN AMERICA BY THE SPANISH CROWN ARE LOCATED IN CUBA AND CONSTITUTE TODAY, AT THE RETURN OF FIVE CENTURIES, ATTRACTIVE TOURIST DESTINATIONS, OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INTEREST.
The legendary Cuban Villas
BARACOA, PRIMARY CITY OF CUBA.
The city treasures inside a glass case and with a silver pedestal the Cross of the Vine, symbol of the cristiandad that brought Christopher Columbus in his first trip and was used to officiate by Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas.
The most frequent and spectacular way to get to Baracoa is the 150-kilometer road trip, from Santiago de Cuba, the most important city in eastern Cuba, to Guantánamo, from there to climb up to that fabulous Caribbean village on the north coast. a very peculiar road that winds between the mountains called La Farola, with 11 hanging bridges and the most relevant point in Altos de Cotilla, more than 600 meters above sea level.
Baracoa received the city appointment in 1518 and was the first capital of the island, as well as the seat of the first bishopric.
BAYAMO, CUBA OF THE CUBAN NATIONALITY.
In Bayamo the National Anthem was composed and it was sung for the first time, the cry of freedom was given, it was the first city with a free government of Cuba, each one of these facts can be revived in its tarjas and monuments, as well as in its museums that treasure history vividly.
The Cathedral of SantÃsimo Salvador de Bayamo is a jewel, witness of the evolution of architecture. The chapel of the Sorrowful Virgin keeps numerous mysteries, survived earthquakes and the burning of the city by the rebels in January 1869, another proverbial event for which Bayamo is known in the world.
TRINITY
Located in the center-south of Cuba, in the province of Sancti SpÃritus, with the ever-green Sierra del Escambray behind it and facing the Caribbean Sea, located at its feet, the Villa de la SantÃsima Trinidad resembles a stage designed in all its details to film the golden age of Spanish colonial rule.
One is enchanted when the road empties, suddenly, before that colorful image of cobbled streets, majestic residences adorned by doors and windows of precious woods, protected by the whimsical latticework of iron bars, which border a square, with trees of shade and floral gardens, neatly preserved.
Along with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, Trinidad was inscribed in 1988 by UNESCO on its World Heritage List. It is one of the best preserved colonial cities in America.
Perfect to walk. When you arrive in Trinidad you immediately feel the irrepressible desire to travel through it, enter its museums, stop in its squares, walk the cobbled streets in a true journey into the past.
The celebration of the V Centennial served to undertake new tourism development projects until it became one of the most visited in the country.
CAMAGÃœEY, THE LEGENDARY CITY OF LOS TINAJONES
Although the Spaniards baptized it as Santa MarÃa del Puerto del PrÃncipe, the capital of the largest of the Cuban provinces ended up adopting the aboriginal name of Camagüey, after several changes from the original settlement on the coast of the Bay of Nuevitas to a territory inside, more secure and with water supplies.
The abundance of the appropriate mud to make the bricks with which the first houses were built, also allowed to mold and bake the tinajones, a kind of large Arab vase, which over time became the emblem of this city, located 550 km away. . east of Havana.
The historic center, declared by Unesco Cultural Heritage of Humanity, has a totally asymmetrical layout, which resembles in some places a spider’s web. It is the most extensive in Cuba and one of those that best preserves its colonial architecture and setting.
The celebrations for the five centuries of the founding of the Villa of Santa MarÃa del Puerto del PrÃncipe, one of the oldest in America, stimulated an enthusiastic program of restoration of the areas of greatest architectural, historical and cultural value, as well as the conclusion of attractive tourist facilities and high quality accommodation.
