Plaza de Francia

Plaza de Francia (also called France Square), designed by Leonardo de Villanueva is situated at the southern point of the Casco Viejo peninsula. The square is intended to commemorate the effort of 22,000 people who worked hard in order to construct the canal, as well as the thousands who passed away as a result of diseases such as yellow fever and malaria.

An obelisk stands guard over the memorial at the end of the plaza, where a dozen marble tablets depict the difficult work. They later found that yellow fever, which killed thousands of people during the French endeavor, was transmitted by a mosquito bite. This information motivated the American attempt to eliminate mosquitoes from the site before the digging began.

In front of Plaza de Francia is the statue of Pablo Arosemena, who was one of the founding fathers and first presidents of Panama. The square includes a small peninsula that once served as a defensive stronghold for the walled city. The eastern edge of the plaza is bordered by the former dungeons of Las Bóvedas. Furthermore, next door is the Instituto Nacional de Cultura, which was originally the city's primary courthouse but is now home to the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (National Culture Institute).

Location: Panama City