Next on the World Heritage 2008 list is the Historic Center of Camagüey, a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation’s third largest city. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province.
After almost continuous attacks from pirates, the original city (founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe around 1515 on the northern coast) was moved inland in 1528. The new city was built with a confusing lay-out of winding alleys that made it easier to defend it from any raiders. There are many blind alleys and forked streets that lead to squares of different sizes. There is only one exit from the city; should pirates ever return and succeed in entering the city, the hope was that the local inhabitants would be able to entrap and kill them.
The symbol of the city of Camagüey is the clay pot or tinajón, used to capture rainwater to be used later, keeping it fresh. Clay pots are literally everywhere, some as small as a hand, some large enough for two people to stand up in, either as monuments or for real use. Local legend has it that if you drink water from a girl’s personal tinajón, you will fall in love with the girl and never leave her.
For UNESCO, the site stands out because of the originality of its urban design and its collection of religious buildings. According to architects and researchers, Camagüey has distinctive characteristics that make it different from other Cuban cities and the rest of the American continent.
Source: Wikipedia
