The Student Square is located on El Porvenir Street in the historic center of Cartagena, in front of the cloister of San Agustín today the headquarters of the University of Cartagena.
History of Student Square
Once the work on the Convent of San Agustín was completed in 1580, the square was baptized with the same name as the convent. “Plaza de San Agustín”; For the year 1828 the government of General Francisco de Paula Santander He ordered that the University of Istmo and Magdalena (Current University of Cartagena) be installed in said building, the first university in the Colombian Caribbean and therefore currently considered the oldest in the Caribbean, immediately the place was called University Square; Luego, el Consejo Municipal dispuso que el sitio se llamara Plaza de los Estudiantes; en esta plaza se encuentra ubicado un Busto a Manuel Dávila Flórez who was rector of the university.
(Also know: Plaza de San Diego in Cartagena de Indias)
The monument in honor of Manuel Dávila Flórez was made to honor the man who was rector of the university and a great defender of higher education in the Caribbean, at a time when the government planned to centralize education in the interior of the country Dávila, along with several Important figures from the Caribbean objected, the sculpture was donated by the first student assembly of Bolívar in 1924, it is made of marble and the bust is located on a pedestal that has the figure of the Greek goddess Athena or Minerva carved, which is Considered the goddess of wisdom, she also carries a phrase that says “the youth of Bolívar pays homage to the teacher.”
Where is the Student Square located?
The square is located in street 6 of Calle del Porvenir in the historic center of Cartagena, in front of the cloister of San Agustín.
