Casco Antiguo is the oldest city on the Pacific coast of the Americas. In 1998, Casco antiguo was recognized by UNESCO and the United Nations for Education, Science and Culture as a site of world interest, due to the physical and universal aspects of this historical location. The Old Quarter of Panama City, located a couple of miles south of downtown, was built in 1673, after the original city was laid to waste by Henry Morgan’s gang. The famed National Cathedral and its plaza is where Panama declared independence from Colombia in 1903. The Panama Canal Museum and the legendary Golden Altar (found in the Iglesia San Jose), are located in Casco Viejo.
Casco Antiguo, perhaps a commercial point in the past, is now a major tourist destination for those visiting Panama.
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To walk through (Casco Antiguo) is definitely to walk through history. Buildings sitting side by side can be over three hundred years apart in age. Balconies are filled with flowers such as geraniums and bougainvillea wrapped around sculpted wrought iron crafted in another century, The streets are brick, and no matter which way they run, they run to the sea, because Casco Viejo is surrounded by sea.
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