El enigma de las Casas Reales del sitio arqueológico de Panamá Viejo

Abstract

[EN] Panama Viejo, the first Spanish city in the American Pacific during the 16th and 17th century relied only on two structures for its defense: a small fort and Casas Reales. The existing documentation names Casas Reales as the most important architectural ensemble of the city. With a dominant position, it was under constant remodeling, adapting to the environment and its various functions. In 1671, a pirate army attacked and plundered the city, that was reduced to ruins and used as a source of cut stone quarry for the building of the new settlement. Not much research has been made about the building and the historic documentation seems to be scarce. In addition, its remains and the existing historic documentation do not seem to match. The main goal of this research is to propose a chronology of the building with the historic information available and focusing on the most documented period.