Praia, June 25, 2024 (Lusa) - The historic site of Cidade Velha, in Cabo Verde, has received ten times more visitors a year (from 6,000 to 60,000) since it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site 15 years ago.
The "exponential increase" was emphasised by the president of the Heritage Institute (IPC), Ana Samira Baessa, in an interview with the Lusa news agency.
The number included foreign tourists, a figure considered "significant" and which represents added value, without putting pressure on the historic site, she said.
According to Ana Baessa, visitors are distributed throughout the year and the big challenge now is to ensure that they leave "the greatest benefit" for the local community.
Cidade Velha, Cabo Verde's first capital, is 12 kilometres from the city of Praia and is experiencing "a turning point", in which investment will be directed more towards urban regeneration, after the restoration of heritage and housing.
Cabo Verde's government, in partnership with the municipality of Ribeira Grande de Santiago, has eight projects underway, financed by the World Bank to the tune of more than $1.5 million ( €1.4 million).
These are projects to improve accessibility, create tourist and cultural attractions and promote entrepreneurship, he said.
"In a comprehensive way, they will improve the entire environment of the Old Town for visitors and for the resident community itself," said the president of the IPC.
All the projects are aligned with the strengthening of management instruments and with a "safeguarding plan", which will be presented on Wednesday, and which will look at the heritage to be preserved "in all its dimensions - material, immaterial and archaeological".
Ana Samira Baessa considered that another of the gains over the last 15 years has been the community's "greater ownership" of its heritage, being "more aware" of the historical value of the Old Town and the opportunities it offers in various fields.
Proof of this is that the residents themselves elected the community leaders, making Ribeira Grande de Santiago the only place in the country with representatives for each of the neighbourhoods.
Management that is closer to the local community and involves other players, especially economic operators, is another of the challenges for Cidade Velha in the coming years, said the president of the IPC.
The local authority warned 10 years ago of the risk of losing its World Heritage status due to clandestine construction, but the president of the IPC told Lusa that this possibility does not arise today, because the houses are built on the basis of plans.
"We are far from this risk of the Old City losing its World Heritage status," she said, noting that the "small conflicts" with the community have been managed "carefully".
Discovered by the Portuguese navigator Diogo Gomes in 1460, it was António da Noli, an Italian then in the service of the Portuguese crown, who began to settle the town two years later.
The first capital of the Cabo Verde archipelago until 1770, Ribeira Grande de Santiago, 12 kilometres from the city of Praia, was made a city in 1533, when it had around 500 inhabitants, a quarter of its current population.
RIPE/ADB // ADB.
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