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Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca

Ecuador
Date of Inscription: 1999
Criteria: (ii)(iv)(v)
Property : 200.0000 ha
Province of Azuay
S2 53 W78 59
Ref: 863

Brief Description

Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca is set in a valley surrounded by the Andean mountains in the south of Ecuador. This inland colonial town (entroterra), now the country's third city, was founded in 1557 on the rigorous planning guidelines issued 30 years earlier by the Spanish king Charles V. Cuenca still observes the formal orthogonal town plan that it has respected for 400 years. One of the region's agricultural and administrative centres, it has been a melting pot for local and immigrant populations. Cuenca's architecture, much of which dates from the 18th century, was 'modernized' in the economic prosperity of the 19th century as the city became a major exporter of quinine, straw hats and other products.
CUENCA, ECUADOR.(HISTORIC CENTRE OF SANTA ANA DE LOS RIOS DE CUENCA. INCA AND INDIGENOUS INDIAN CULTURES, BLEND WITH SPANISH COLONIAL, GIVING RICH CULTURE FAMOUS FOR ARCHITECTURE, PANAMA HATS, TEXTILES, CERAMICS AND OLD CHURCHES. RICH WITH FESTIVALS SUCH AS "EL PASO DE LAS NINOS" CELEBRATE CHILDREN AND THE VIRGIN MARY. THE CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPCION. | GEOFF MASON © © OUR PLACE The World Heritage Collection More pictures ...

Justification for Inscription

Criterion (ii): Cuenca illustrates the successful implantation of the principles of Renaissance urban planning in the Americas. Criterion (iv): The successful fusion of different societies and cultures in Latin America is vividly symbolized by the layout and townscape of Cuenca. Criterion (v): Cuenca is an outstanding example of a planned inland Spanish colonial city.

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