Casco Viejo, Panama Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Casco Antiguo
Historic District of Panama City
Aerial Panorama (Casco Antiguo)
Location of San Felipe(Casco Antiguo) in Panamá province
Casco Antiguo Location in Panama
Country	Panama
Province	Panamá
District	Panamá
City	Panama City
Website	cascoviejo.org

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name: Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá
Type:	Cultural
Criteria:	II, IV, VI
Designated:	1997 (21st session)
Reference #:	790
Extension:	2003
Region:	Latin America and the Caribbean

Casco Antiguo (Spanish for Old Quarter), also known as Casco Viejo or San Felipe, is the historic district of Panama City. Completed and settled in 1673, it was built following the near-total destruction of the original Panamá city, Panamá Viejo in 1671, when the latter was attacked by pirates. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1997.

History
Main sights
Gallery
See also

History

Panama City was founded on August 15, 1519 and it lasted one hundred and fifty-two years. In January 1671, the Governor Juan Perez de Guzman had it set on fire, before the attack and looting by the pirate Henry Morgan. In 1672, Antonio Fernández de Córdoba initiated the construction of a new city, which was then founded on January 21, 1673. This city was built on a peninsula completely isolated by the sea and a defensive system of walls. Today this place preserves the first institutions and buildings of the modern city of Panama. It is known as Casco Viejo (Spanish for Old Town).

In the 18th century this part of the city was the victim of three large fires that partially destroyed it and modified its initial structure. The current configuration dates from the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The recostruction allows the insertion of neoclassical, Afro-Antillean buildings within the ruins and colonial buildings, which differentiates it from other old towns in cities such as Cartagena de Indias and Quito, which have an almost exclusively colonial style.

In recent years, Casco Viejo— through gentrification— has become a tourist hotspot filled with restaurants, boutique hotels, and nightclubs; while also maintaining the multiple historical sites it has to offer.

Main sights

La Catedral Metropolitana is the main Catholic church in Panama city.
El Palacio de las Garzas, is the governmental office and residence of the President of Panama.
Church and Convent of San Francisco de Asís.
Church of San José
Church of La Merced
Church and Convent of Santo Domingo: Arco Chato
Church and convent of the Society of Jesus.
Palacio Municipal, which dates from the beginning of the 20th century.
Palacio Nacional
National Theatre of Panama
Panama Canal Museum
Palacio Bolívar
Góngora House
Plaza Bolívar
Plaza Herrera
Plaza de Francia
Plaza de la Independencia