CubaPLUS Magazine

Havana is enchanting and incredible:nbsp;ancient and modern streets; autosnbsp;from the 1950s; buildings 500 yearsnbsp;old; welcoming beaches, museums,nbsp;art galleries, theatres, hotels, and adventureshellip;.

As the capital of the Republic of Cuba, since itsnbsp;founding Havana has been a port of welcomenbsp;and departure from and into the world. It is annbsp;unprecedented place, preserving the attractive,nbsp;enduring legend that made it into the mostnbsp;important urban center of the Spanish empire in thisnbsp;part of the planet.

The walls of the old part of the city, the cradle andnbsp;heart of modern-day Havana, encircle a wealth ofnbsp;World Heritage, the title that was conferred on itsnbsp;historic district by UNESCO in 1982 for being one ofnbsp;the best-preserved architectural complexes in thenbsp;Americas.

Founded officially on Nov. 16, 1519, Havana wasnbsp;located in three different sites before its finalnbsp;destination, centered around the El Templetenbsp;shrine and the Plaza de Armas. Pánfilo denbsp;Narváez established the villa in April of 1514,nbsp;probably on a point along the southern coast,nbsp;near Batabanó. Subsequently, when residentsnbsp;discovered the port of Havana on the northernnbsp;coast, with its magnificent natural conditions,nbsp;they moved their homes to the banks of thenbsp;River Almendares, and then they moved again,nbsp;this time forever, to the west side of the port ofnbsp;Carenas, todayás port of Havana.

The original name of the villa was San Cristóbalnbsp;de La Habana, and its fortresses are among thenbsp;oldest in the Americas, including the castlesnbsp;(castillos) of Real Fuerza (1577), San Salvador de Lanbsp;Punta (1600) and Los Tres Reyes Magos del Morronbsp;(1630). Attacks by pirates and corsairs led to the nbsp;reationnbsp;of this system of fortifications, and a wall was raised.

Today, only bits and fragments of it remain scatterednbsp;around the city. After six decades of construction, thenbsp;wallrsquo;s useful life lasted 123 years; the city it encirclednbsp;grew and spread and developed at such a dizzying speednbsp;that it went beyond its central buildings, leading to thenbsp;beginning of the wallrsquo;s demolition in 1863.

Military and residential buildings that were milestones innbsp;the far-off 16th, 17th and 18th centuries continue to reflectnbsp;those eras, with their ancient moss, balustrades, andnbsp;semi-circular arches protecting their colonial interiorsnbsp;and filtering in the warm colours of the tropics.

Numerous plazas are located within Havanarsquo;s geography,nbsp;including the Plaza de Armas.