Cartago, Costa Rica Summary

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.