Panamá Viejo Cathedral, Colonial cathedral in Panamá Province, Panama

Panamá Viejo Cathedral is a ruin on the Plaza Mayor: a 30-metre square bell tower of yellowish-tan ashlar blocks stands beside a lower, broken wall of dark rubble masonry with an empty rectangular window. The tower's upper level has tall arched openings above paired rectangular windows, with a small circular opening lower down. Grass grows at the wall's base.

A first wooden cathedral, begun in 1535 under Bishop Fray Tomás de Berlanga, burned in 1540 and was rebuilt in wood after masonry attempts failed. The stone church was raised from 1619 to 1626 under Bishop Francisco de Cámara, with stonemason Cristóbal de Armiñán. Henry Morgan's 1671 sack destroyed it, and it was never rebuilt.

The cathedral stood on the Plaza Mayor, the main square of Panamá Viejo, and its 30-metre bell tower also served as a watchtower over the settlement. The tower was declared a national historic monument within the Historic Monumental Complex of Panamá Viejo. Visitors today climb 115 steps in three stages, each with a resting platform and museum panels.

The bell tower is fitted with a viewpoint reached by 115 steps in three stages, each with a landing for rest and museum panels. The rest of the cathedral is open ruins of low walls and rubble, with grass at the bases, so watch your footing.

The tower served as both bell tower and watchtower, and its 30-metre height made it sturdier than the rest of the church, which is why it survived the 1671 sack when the cathedral itself was destroyed. Visitors climb 115 steps in three stages, each with a landing and museum panels, to a lookout over the colonial ruins and the modern city.