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Home > Travel South America > South America Destinations > Cumana
Cumana
South America is the fourth largest continent of the Western Hemisphere. It is divided politically into 12 independent countries namely Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela and the overseas department of French Guiana. The continent extends to 7,640 kilometers from Punta Gallinas, Colombia, in the north to Cape Horn, Chile, in the south.
At its broadest point, near where it is crossed by the equator, the continent extends to 5,300 kilometers from east to west. South America is connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. It is washed on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Topographically the continent is divided into three sections namely the South American cordillera, the interior lowlands, and the continental shield. Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion and Portuguese and Spanish are the primary languages of the continent.
Cumana is the capital of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located at about 402 kilometers far away from the eastern part of Caracas. It had a population of 305,000 inhabitants. It was the first city to be founded by the Europeans on the South American mainland, in 1515 by Franciscan monks, but due to successful attacks by the indigenous people, it had to be re-founded several times. After Amerindian attacks became less of a threat, the city was on several occasions destroyed by earthquakes. Thus the oldest part of the city is late 17th and 18th century, almost none of the 16th century architecture survived.
The city features a wide variety of colonial style architecture which is still in excellent condition. A large old Spanish fort, the Castillo de San Antonio de la Eminencia can be seen from the beach, which is still open to the public. Also surviving is the Castillo de Santa Maria de la Cabeza, which was built in 1669. The Museo del Mar displays marine and maritime artifacts.
Presently, Cumana experiences a sharp social, economic and population growth derivative of the strategic position of the locality and the high level of well-being and quality of life that is enjoyed with respect to other places of South America. Cumana, justifiably so, enjoys a very positive reputation with worldwide travelers, and is one of the most visited place.
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