In the present investigation, we study the influence of conventual foundations on the origin of the urban layout of two of the first cities in the Spanish colonization of America: Santo Domingo (1502) and Panama Viejo (1519), examples of early colonial urbanism. Starting with cartography and historical bibliography, as well as recent studies on their urban evolution and using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for graphic representation, a comparative study is carried out between both cities divided into stages of urban expansion until their consolidation (or disappearance in the case of Panama in 1671). We have been able to verify how, in Santo Domingo, the religious orders settled on the outskirts of the city, marking the axes of expansion as an instrument of control and consolidation of an urban layout closer to the idea of a grid, which will materialize more precisely in later cities. Meanwhile, in Panama Viejo, the city was formed longitudinally on the streets occupied by the convents, which served as the main axes that defined the urban design of the city. This article aims to demonstrate the importance of the role of religious power in the formation of the cities presented here.

The Historic District of Panama City was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 for representing an exceptional example of 17th century colonial urban planning in the Americas. This article focuses on the specific analysis of the deteriorated monastic typology, highlighting its historical role as an articulating piece of the original urban layout designed in 1673 after the transfer from Panamá Viejo to the current location and which continues today. Our methodology consisted of reviewing the different stages of each of these buildings, extracting common events, and identifying the examples of the greatest value loss, with the aim of enhancing and highlighting their historical footprint. This study includes approaches from urbanism, architectural history, and heritage preservation that allows us to discuss possible tools, either for protection or adaptative reuse, to avoid the deterioration of such important historical heritage.

El Centro Histórico de Colón, ubicado en la costa Atlántica panameña, es la primera fundación ferroviaria de América Latina, combina la vía férrea con un puerto. El objetivo de este artículo ha sido el resaltar su importancia como ejemplo de patrimonio del siglo XX, haciendo hincapié en sus atributos como la traza urbana y la diversidad de sus estilos arquitectónicos, representativos de su multiculturalidad. Se han planteado las razones del deterioro del Centro Histórico de Colón, que ha empeorado debido a la demolición de algunos de sus edificios emblemáticos, dejando entrever vacíos dentro de su trama que resultan desoladores. También se ha presentado la experiencia de la “Alerta de Patrimonio” del Consejo Internacional de Monumentos y Sitios (ICOMOS) para hacer un llamado a nivel nacional e internacional, de la cual se analizaron sus aspectos positivos y negativos. De todo esto, se puede entrever la necesidad de una gestión centrada en valores, en la sostenibilidad y en las personas, que ayude a la conservación de este patrimonio del siglo XX.

The presented study illustrates the characterisation of several artificial materials (bedding, joint mortars, and plasters) belonging to the masonries of the UNESCO site of Panamá Viejo, located in Panama City (Panama). This monumental site represents the first Spanish settlement on the Pacific Coast, founded 500 years ago, in 1519. Through mineralogical and petrographic analyses of the collected samples, as stereomicroscope and polarized light microscopy (PLM) observations of bulk and thin sections, respectively, environmental scanning electron microscopy and micro-chemical investigations (ESEM-EDX) and X-Ray Powder diffraction (XRPD) analysis, it was possible to identify the composition of the materials utilized for the production of mortars and plasters, in addition to the determination of their state of conservation. Therefore, this work represents a substantial step for the preservation of the Panamá Viejo site, in order to support the selection of the most suitable restoration products, such as consolidants, protectives, etc., but also for choosing the most compatible materials for possible replacements/integrations in the masonries.