Cartago is a city in Costa Rica, about 25 km (15 miles) east of the capital, San José. A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica,) is a Country in San José ( Spanish: San José; ˌsɑːn hɒˈsɛː is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and is at the heart of the sprawling Gran Area Metropolitana It is at an elevation of about 1435 m (some 4930 ft) above sea level, at the base of the Irazú Volcano. Mean sea level (MSL is the average (mean height of the Sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface The Irazú Volcano ( Volcán Irazú) is an Active volcano in Costa Rica, situated in the Cordillera Central close to the city of Cartago Cartago is the capital of Cartago province. Cartago is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the central part of the country The city covers an area of 152,68 km². It includes the districts of city downtown: Oriental, Occidental (known as the typical downtown area), San Nicolás (the main entrance to the city, at west), El Carmen (north), San Rafael de Oreamuno (at east, is the capital of canton of Oreamuno), Dulce Nombre and San Francisco (at south, San Francisco is known commonly as Aguacaliente). In 2008 the city will have a population of 156,600 inhabitants, according to the Stadistics and Census Institute of Costa Rica. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology

History

The Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles

Cartago was founded in 1563 by Spanish conquistador Juan Vásquez de Coronado, and is the oldest still existing Spanish settlement in Costa Rica. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador The city was granted a coat of arms by King Philip II of Spain in 1565, and the title of Muy Noble y Muy Leal ("Most Noble and Most Loyal") by the Cortes (Spanish Parliament) in 1814. Philip II may refer to Philip II of Macedon (382&ndash336 BC Philip II of France (1165&ndash1223 Philip II of Year 1814 ( MDCCCXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common It served as the first capital of Costa Rica until 1823, when Republican leader Gregorio Jose Ramirez , moved the capital to the bigger city of San José, because Cartago wanted to unite the newly independent province of Costa Rica to the Iturbide's Mexican Empire while San Jose and Alajuela supported a Republican system. Year 1823 ( MDCCCXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica,) is a Country in The city was severely damaged by major earthquakes in 1822, 1841 and 1910. An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the For the game see 1841 (board game. Year 1841 ( MDCCCXLI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting In 1963, a volcanic eruption of Irazu Volcano which for two years covered San José in ash badly damaged some agricultural areas around Cartago, but not the city. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Volcanic ash consists of small Tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions less than in diameter

Many pilgrims come to Cartago annually, to visit the national's principal church, the enormous Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles, on the feast day of the Virgin of the Angels (August 2). In Religion and Spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or Search of great Moral significance The church has a statue of the Black Madonna known as La Negrita, who supposedly had great healing powers. A Black Madonna or Black Virgin is a statue or painting of Mary in which she is depicted with dark or black skin The sick come to her statue in hope of a miracle from La Negrita. A miracle is an event believed to be caused by interposition of Divine intervention by a Supernatural being in the Universe by which the ordinary operation

According to folklore in Costa Rica, the statue was found by an indigenous girl in 1635. She brought it home several times, but it mysteriously reappeared at its original site. The rock where she found it is now kept in a backroom in the basilica and is revered as a sacred relic and object of inspiration. The rock is supposed to be in the same location it was when La Negrita was found, but it has been moved as the basilica was rebuilt (see below). It is common for pilgrims to touch the rock in reverence.

The central park in Cartago includes the "ruins" of the main church of Cartago (the "parroquia" of Santiago Apóstol), about five block west from the basilica. Despite their beauty, they are not real ruins but an unfinished building, which was badly damaged by the 1910 earthquake and then interrupted. The city's government is declaring 100 blocks as "the Cartago's historical center. " This is a way to keep the historical buildings alive in the future, as many cities in the world have done. In the other hand, the Government of the city and JASEC (the company that offers the electrical service in the city) has been working both to light some of the most important historical buildings and to attract inhabitants and tourists to the city at night.

The ruins of the Santiago Apóstol church in Cartago's central park, known as "Plaza Mayor".

The main products of the region are potatoes, onions, milk, and orchids. The potato is a Starchy Tuberous crop Vegetable from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae Organicsalsajpg||thumb|right|Onions used in salsa.]]Cooked onions in frying pan Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the Mammary glands of female Mammals (including Monotremes. These used to support more than 90% of the city's economy although other resources such as computer technologies have risen since the last decade. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. A decade is a period of 10 Years (since 1594 a factor of 10 difference between two numbers, or sometimes a set or a group of ten (since 1451

The province is known for its rich ecological diversity and dense tropical rainforests along the mountain ranges near the Irazu and Turrialba volcanoes. The Irazú Volcano ( Volcán Irazú) is an Active volcano in Costa Rica, situated in the Cordillera Central close to the city of Cartago Turrialba Volcano was named after the region of Costa Rica in which the volcano is situated

Cartago is home of the Costa Rica Institute of Technology, one of the most prestigious higher education institutions in the country and one of Central America's most important engineering schools. The Costa Rica Institute of Technology or Technological Institute of Costa Rica ( Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica) also known as "ITCR" or "TEC"

Cities (Included in Cartago Metropolitan Area)

• Paraíso
• Oreamuno
• El Guarco

The so-called Ruins in Cartago, currently a local tourist attraction, were intended to be the Santiago Apóstol Church. Paraíso is a small city in Costa Rica located 8km southeast of Cartago City It has never been the first Basilica. The Basilica was originally built in La Puebla de los Pardos, today known as Barrio Los Ángeles, where it is nowadays.

See also

• Cartago Agrarian Union Party
• Provincial Integration Party Three