La Laguna / Tenerife
Template of the Americas
Portrait
Founded in 1496 without walls — unusual and deliberate — La Laguna was laid out on a grid derived from navigational principles, and that plan was carried to Lima, Cartagena, Havana and San Juan as the model for colonial cities. Its wooden Canarian balconies and patios survive because the capital moved to Santa Cruz and the town stopped growing.
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