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CARTAGO |
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| CARTAGO , meaning "Carthage", was Costa Rica's capital for three
hundred years before the centre of power was moved to San José in 1823.
Founded in 1563 by Juan Vazquez de Coronado, like its ancient namesake
the city has been razed a number of times, although in this case by
earthquakes rather than Romans - two, in 1823 and 1910, conspired
practically to demolish the place. Most of the fine nineteenth-century
and fin-de-siècle buildings were destroyed, and what has grown up in
their place - the usual assortment of shops and haphazard modern
buildings - isn't particularly appealing. The highlight of the town is
the pretty Parque Central , centred on the ruins of the Iglesia de la
Parroquía (known as "Las Ruinas") - originally built in 1575, it was
repeatedly destroyed by earthquakes but stubbornly rebuilt by the
Cartagoans each time, until the giant earthquake of 1910 finally
vanquished it for good. Only the elegantly tumbling walls remain,
enclosing pretty subtropical gardens. From the ruins it's a walk of five
minutes east to Cartago's only other attraction: the cathedral, properly
called the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles , at C 16 and Av 2,
rebuilt in a decorative Byzantine style after the original had been
destroyed in an earthquake of 1926. |
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