Photos of Cienfuegos, the Pearl of the South, Cuba

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Cienfuegos, the Pearl of the South

Cienfuegos, the capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city of about 150,000 people on Bahía de Cienfuegos, a bay on the southern coast of Cuba about 250 kilometres from Havana. It is famous for its elegant colonial-era buildings and dubbed “La Perla del Sur” (Pearl of the South). Originally the area of Taíno indigenous people under their chief Jagua, it was settled on 22 April 1819 by French immigrants from Bordeaux and Louisiana. They were led by Don Louis de Clouet, who called it Fernandina de Jagua, in honour of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII and Chief Jagua.

On the Parque José Martí, Cienfuegos
 
Arco de Triunfo, Parque José Martí
 
Palacio de Gobierno, Cienfuegos
 
Parque José Martí from the east, Cienfuegos
 
Cienfuegos Cathedral
 
Colegio San Lorenzo, Cienfuegos
 
Teatro Tomás Terry, Cienfuegos
 
Parque José Martí from north, Cienfuegos
 
Exercises on Parque José Martí
 
View of Parque José Martí, Cienfuegos
 
Ceiling mural, Museo Provincial,
 
Ceiling murals, Museo Provincial,
 
Avenida 54, Cienfuegos
 
In the old city, Cienfuegos
 
Horsecarts, Cienfuegos
 
Street in Cienfuegos
 
Paseo del Prado, Cienfuegos
 
Horsecart, Cienfuegos
 
From Paseo El Prado to Cienfuegos
 
Hotel Palacio Azul, Cienfuegos
 
Palacio de Valle, Cienfuegos
 
Palacio de Valle, Cienfuegos
 
Gate to Palacio de Valle, Cienfuegos
 
Park in La Punta, Cienfuegos
 

It became a town in 1829 and was renamed after José Cienfuegos, who was Captain-General of Cuba from 1816–1819; in 1880, it was called a city, and many of its streets had French names; as they do to this day. The central square in the old town is Parque José Martí, with its Arco de Triunfo, commemorating Cuban independence. The Tomás Terry Theatre has gold-leaf mosaics and ceiling frescoes. There is the Palacio de Gobierno and the Provincial Museum with its beautiful ceiling murals, exploring the city’s colonial history. In 2005, UNESCO inscribed the Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos on the World Heritage List, citing Cienfuegos as the best extant example of early 19th century Spanish Enlightenment implementation in urban planning. There is no other place in the Caribbean with such a remarkable cluster of Neoclassical structures.

The Paseo del Prado leads along the Bahía de Cienfuegos to La Punta, the southernmost point of the city. Cienfuegos’ old upper-class neighbourhood has an elegant neo-classical water-front mansion, now Hotel Encanto Palacio Azul. Palacio de Valle, a Spanish-Moorish palace, now houses a seafood restaurant, historical exhibits, and a rooftop bar built in the early 20th Century. At the southernmost point is a park and a beach to relax.