Cabo Verde

Cidade Velha

WHS Score 1.92
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Votes 25 Average 2.14
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Votes for Cidade Velha

0.5

  • Christravelblog
  • Coppi

1.0

  • Szucs Tamas

1.5

  • Bill Maurmann
  • Mahuhe
  • Solivagant
  • Wojciech Fedoruk

2.0

  • Jon Opol
  • Kevin247
  • Mikko
  • Philipp Leu
  • Pierre T
  • Randi Thomsen
  • Stijn
  • Svein Elias

2.5

  • Daniel Gabi
  • Dimitar Krastev
  • Persian Globetrotter

3.0

  • Alexander Barabanov
  • Els Slots
  • Reisedachs
  • Roger Ourset
  • tony0001

3.5

  • Christoph
  • João Aender

Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande, was a Portuguese colonial settlement that played an important role in the maritime trade of enslaved persons and goods between Europa, Africa and America.

The enslaved were also used to further develop the local colony, which resulted in the birth of Creole culture. Surviving monuments in Cidade Velha from that period include the oldest colonial church in the world, constructed in 1495, and Pillory Square with its ornate 16th-century marble pillar.

Community Perspective: situated on Cabo Verde’s main island Santiago and only 15kms outside of the current capital, the town is easy to reach. Reviewers found no great deal to see, the best-preserved monument being the Fort Real of Sao Filipe, and compared the atmosphere to “a sleepy African, or perhaps more specifically, Brazilian village”. Els explored the Ribeira Grande Valley, also part of the inscribed site, on foot.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande (ID: 1310)
Country
Cabo Verde
Status
Inscribed 2009 Site history
History of Cidade Velha
1992: Rejected
No protection and does not justify WHS
2009: Advisory Body overruled
ICOMOS suggested Referral, but WHC decided to Inscribe
2009: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • ii
  • iii
  • vi
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
  • youtube.com — Series of YouTube videos made by Cambridge University during their Cabo Verde research
News Article
  • Nov. 7, 2015 phys.org — Earliest church in the tropics unearthed in former heart of Atlantic slave trade

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Urban landscape: Colonial
Travel Information
No travel information
Recent Connections
View all (31) .
Connections of Cidade Velha
Individual People
Geography
  • Sahel
    "Cape Verde is part of the Sahelian semi-arid belt, with nothing like the rainfall levels of nearby West Africa." (wiki)

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Atlantic Ocean
    "testimony to its considerable role in international trade associated with the development of European colonial domination towards Africa and America and the birth of Atlantic triangular trade" (OUV)
  • Macaronesia
    Lies on Santiago Island, one of The Cape Verde islands that form part of the Macaronesia ecoregion
  • Situated in one of the SIDS
    Cape Verde 2009
Trivia
History
Architecture
Damaged
  • Destroyed during invasion
    Ruínas da Catedral da Ribeira Grande de Santiago - destroyed during "a major attack carried out by the French privateer, Jacques Cassard, in 1712".

    See ipc.cv

World Heritage Process
Religion and Belief
Human Activity
  • Piracy
    "The riches of Ribeira Grande and conflicts between Portugal and rival colonial powers France and Britain attracted pirate attacks, including those by Francis Drake (1585) and Jacques Cassard (1712)." (wiki)

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Slavery
    Important port in the transcontinental slavery
  • Sea Ports
    "the bay, which constitutes a naturally sheltered port" (AB ev)
Constructions
  • Pillories
    (early 16th century), symbolising simultaneously municipal power and the punishment reserved for recalcitrant slaves (AB ev)

    See commons.wikimedia.org

  • Pillars
    16th century marble pillar on Pillory Square
  • Cisterns
    Fortaleza Real de São Felipe
Timeline
  • Built in the 15th century
    "The island of Santiago was discovered around 1460 and claimed for the Crown of Portugal. There was no human presence on the island..... As early as 1466 it was granted a royal charter entitling its inhabitants to practise the slave trade.... Ribeira Grande was the first European town to be built in the tropics, from the end of the 15th century onwards... Construction of the first defensive structures, the town hall, and the first church began at the end of the 15th century" (AB)
WHS Names
  • Named after a River
    Ribeira Grande "The freshwater coastal river, which gave the town its original name" (AB ev) - the river bed nowadays is often dry
News
phys.org 11/07/2015
Earliest church in the tropics une…

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 13/02/25.

Els Slots

Cidade Velha

Cidade Velha (Inscribed)

Cidade Velha by Els Slots

Cidade Velha is an easy, short excursion from Santiago’s (and Cabo Verde’s) capital Praia. A bay, a few cobbled streets, remains of Portuguese fortifications and churches – you know what it looks like even before you have seen it. I tried a different approach for my visit and went for a guided hike through the Ribeira Grande Valley. This way I also ticked one of the other activity boxes I had for Cabo Verde: “Do a hike in the countryside” (as the archipelago is known as a hiker's paradise).

When you look at the official map of Cidade Velha WHS, you’ll notice that not only the seaside town is included but also a much larger area inland. The boundaries of the core zone follow the canyon that was carved out by the river Ribeira Grande. This area is linked to a specific part of the site’s OUV: the “acclimatisation and dissemination of numerous plant species between the temperate and tropical zones”. The Portuguese colonists experimented with various crops here in the 16th and 17th centuries, starting unsuccessfully with cereals but later finding out that plants from Africa’s mainland (coconut) and Latin America (maize) did well.

We started our hike in the village of Calabaceira. From there, a marked trail leads down into the valley. The guided hike is labelled as “an easy and accessible path for every hiker” by the tour company, but the volcanic soil is rocky all the time and especially going down you have to …

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First published: 28/06/18.

Wojciech Fedoruk

Cidade Velha

Cidade Velha (Inscribed)

Cidade Velha by Wojciech Fedoruk

It seems Cape Verde is not a very popular country in this community. It is not surprising since there is only one World Heritage Site and chances for the inscription of the second one (Tarrafal) are vague. But if you do not follow typical beach vacation on Sal or Boa Vista, there is a lot to see and there is a surprising variety of landscapes in this small country. 

Cidade Velha, the only WHS of the country, was the first settlement of the archipelago and the first colonial town south of Sahara. The Portuguese, striving for piety up to exaggeration, built here more churches than secular buildings. Some of them, such as Convent of Sao Francisco, or Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosario (the oldest colonial church in the world) are part of the inscription. The other one – Se Cathedral (again the first colonial cathedral) is nowadays nothing but ruins. All inscribed properties are withing the walking distance and can be convered in a couple of hours. The best preserved is Fort Real of Sao Filipe, a stronghold built on the steepy hill nearby (the pave is very bad and we almost surrendered descending it with baby stroller). 

Cidade Velha lost competition with Praia and now is nothing but a small but nice village, perfect for a half a day trip from the capital. After visiting the inscribed sites it is worth to sit in one of the restaurants in the center, with a sea view from …

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First published: 01/08/08.

Solivagant

Cidade Velha

Cidade Velha (Inscribed)

Cidade Velha by Solivagant

So Durian’s “inside information” suggests that “Cidade Velha, Ancient Ribera Grande” in Cape Verde might be proposed for inscription in 2009 (see Forum “Nominations for 2009”). For the benefit of my “Visited count” I certainly hope so, since I visited it in April 2003 – but without any expectation that it might EVER be a WHS! In fact Cape Verde only got round to proposing a T List in 2004. Interestingly, however, this small island country had tried to get this very site inscribed many years earlier. I quote verbatim the minutes of the Bureau meeting at Paris in July 1992 “The Bureau considered that, in spite of its indisputable historic value, the property did not meet the criteria for inscription on the World Heritage List”. And at the WHC itself at Santa Fe in December 1992 “The Committee noted that there was no protection or management plan for this cultural property and that it did not meet the criteria for inscription on the World Heritage List”. Well that’s pretty clear then isn’t it! But, as we have noted before, “No” doen’t have to mean “No” where the WHC is concerned! Political imperatives can change a “no hoper” into a “star” and a bit of coaching in the preparation of good (and voluminous) documentation from experts in the field can help overcome doubts!

Well – what is there at Cidade Velha? It is situated on Sao Tiago, the largest island of the Cape Verde …

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