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The city of Cartago was founded in 1563 by the Spanish conquistador Juan V á zquez de Coronado who in a communication to His Majesty King Philip II said: “I laid out a city in that valley, in a seat next to two rivers. The valley is three and a half leagues (1 league equals 3 miles) long and half wide; it has many lands for wheat and corn; it has the feel of Valladolid, good soil and sky. I named the city Cartago, because this province is called by this name.” The selection of the Guarco Valley, for the first settlement of Spaniards, was its similarity to the valley of Valladolid in Spain. Its first location was at the confluence of the Purires and Coris rivers, in the vicinity of the current town of Sabana Grande and Purires (Barrancas), in the district of Tejar. Its original name was Santiago de Cartago, since its parish church was dedicated to Santiago Ap ó stol, but that name only appears in some isolated documents from the time of Spanish domination.

INTERIOR OF THE BASILICA

CARTAGO CENTRAL PLAZA (PLAZA MAYOR) NEXT TO THE RUINS