Trinidad de Cuba

Situated in the central province of Sancti Spiritus, the formerly called Villa de la Santísima Trinidad (Holy Trinity) was founded in 1514 and was one of the first seven villages the Spanish conquistadors founded on the Cuban archipelago. Trinidad, also known as Cuba's Museum City, has the privilege of being one of the country's colonial cities, and has one of the most complete and well-preserved architectural environments in the American continent. Big, comfortable colonial-style houses, palaces where luxury and waste went hand in hand to integrate into Cuban colonial art, turn Trinidad into an undisputable urban and architectural crown jewel. The characteristic decoration of Trinidad's houses is based on neoclassic ornamentation, which is shown in murals, molds, wooden frameworks and beautiful iron-wrought railings. All of these constitute one of the city's major charms. In the Plaza Mayor (Main Square), the central axis of the former village, stands a statue of Terpsichore, the muse of dance and music, accompanied by the singular beauty of the Church of the Holy Trinity, a loyal guardian of valuable religious treasures. Those treasures include the Christ of Vera Cruz and a marble altar dedicated to the Virgin of Mercy, the only one of its kind in the country.