Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande

Cidade Velha, Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S%C3%A9_Catedral,_Cidade_Velha,_Cape_Verde.jpg
Author: Xandu


Cidade Velha, originally known as Ribeira Grande, is the site of the first European colonial outpost in the tropics. It is located to the south of the island of Santiago in Cape Verde, off the western coast of Africa. Ribeira Grande marks the first time that European colonialism spread towards Africa in the 15th century.

The original layout of Ribeira Grande is still visible in Cidade Velha today. Among the ruins include two churches, a royal fortress and pillory square dating to the 16th century. One of the churches, built in 1495, is the oldest colonial church in the world.

The Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande at Cidade Velha was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee which met in Seville, Spain on 22-30 June, 2009. The World Heritage Site core zone of Cidade Velha covers an area of 209.1 hectares while the buffer zone covers 1795.6 hectares.

Cidade Velha, also known as Sidade in Cape Verdean Creole, is about 15 km from Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. The Portuguese established a settlement here in 1462, naming it Ribeira Grande, after a river in Portugal. It was an important port for the slave trade in the 15th century. The profit from slave trading made Ribeira Grande the second richest city among the Portuguese colonies.

Both Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus stopped over at Ribeira Grande on their respective journeys, da Gama bound for India in 1497 while Columbus was on his third voyage to the Americas in 1498.

Street in Cidade Velha
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rua_de_Banana_2,_Cidade_Velha,_Cape_Verde.jpg
Author: Xandu


In the late 18th century, Ribeira Grande was renamed Cidade Velha. This was to avoid confusion with another place with the same name nearby.

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 14 54 54.5 W 23 36 18.7
Inscription Year: 2009
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: II, III, VI

Visiting Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande

You can fly to the island of Santiago, and book accommodation at Praia, the capital. From the capital, Cidade Velha is just 15 km away. You can call a taxi to take you there.

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.