The Rosary of Cidade Velha, first Marian bridge in Africa
Old Town · Isla de Santiago · Cape Verde · Patrimonio UNESCO
The first European settlement in tropical Africa
Old Town ("Old City") - the former Ribeira Grande - was founded by the Portuguese in 1462 on the island of Santiago (Cape Verde). It's the first permanent European settlement in tropical Africa and the first Atlantic enclave of the slave trade. The city was the starting point for thousands of African slaves to America. It was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.
The devotion of the rosary among the slaves
In Cidade Velha, the Dominican missionaries introduced the prayer of the rosary among African slaves who hoped to be boarded. For many of them, the rosary was the first form of Christian faith they received. This devotion - learned in the anguish of captivity - traveled with the slaves to America and became one of the foundations of Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean Catholicism.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary
La Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary de Cidade Velha, built in 1495, is the oldest cathedral in sub-Saharan Africa and one of the first religious constructions in the Atlantic region. Their ruins are standing today. The advocation of the Rosary - the devotion that the Dominicans promoted among the slaves - is the titular advocation of Africa's oldest cathedral.
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