CubaPLUS Magazine

In recent years in Cuba, the list of assets declared as World Heritage Sites and even Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has grown, something attributed by some to therise of culture, both academic and those carried out by the popular movement, and investigations of history and society, including those of the life that beats in the streets.

Thus, the number of places, monuments and complexes declared by the authorized entity as World Heritage Sites exceeds ten, among which stand out the Historic Urban Centers of Old Havana and its Fortifications, of Trinidad and its Valley de los Ingenios, the Castle of San Pedro de la Roca in Santiago de Cuba and the Great Granma Landing of the Granma National Park, in the southeast of the island.

The two aforementioned historic centers are showcases and at the same time dynamic places of residence for active populations, where you can admire well-preserved emporiums due to comprehensive restoration plans that survive from a colonial past, where mansions, museums, squares, temples still shineas religious, solid fortresses and beautiful stately homes of the Villa de San Cristóbal de La Habana (1519) and the Santísima Trinidad (1514), in the center  south of the Island.Santiago's Castle of San Pedro de la Roca, an Italian-style fortress, as well as a prestigious museum, offers beautiful panoramic views of the eastern city, the most Caribbean in Cuba, a vision that combines the sea and the imposing mountains of the historic and biodiverse SierraMaestra, an incredible region.

The Great Natural Park Landing of Granma, in addition to its wealth of forests, rich in botanical species and native fauna, is full of historical sites.To sustainable tourism, it offers tours of historical sites, beaches such as Marea del Portillo. In the Villa of Santo Domingo, the El Guafe Archaeological trail and the Terrazas de Cabo Cruz.

But the list of values considered World Heritage Sites advances with the unparalleled Valley of Viñales, in western Pinar del Río, one of the most dazzling landscapes in Cuba, the Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the east and another extraordinary National Park, Alejandro de Humboldt, cream within the biological diversity in the archipelago.

Thus, the Tumba Francesa la Caridad de Oriente, Tumba Francesa Pompadour, Tumba Francesa de Bejuco, all in the eastern provinces, as Cultural Heritage of Humanity, together with the rumba and the Cuban point, artistic manifestations of themusic, dance and literary creation that express treasures of the African and Spanish heritage, in that order.

There is no shortage of the Urban Historic Centers of the City of Cienfuegos (1819) and Camagüey (1514), the first in the so-called Pearl of the South and founded by French settlers, a beautiful urban conglomerate with rationalist layout streets, beautiful eclectic architecture,at the foot of a very beautiful bay, also a sea port.

Camagüey, in the central eastern part of Cuba, was once Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, a stately city, adorned by typical water jars, with a well-defined colonial center, and a seductive charm. The Plaza de San Juan de Dios is one of the most beautiful places. They dominate the narrow streets, squares and buildings of various architectural styles from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and a large number of churches.