Plaza de Francia

The southern tip of the peninsula that holds Casco Viejo is the site of a beautiful memorial to the French effort to construct the Panama Canal, which became a tragic failure when unchecked malaria and yellow fever killed thousands. The marble plaques and obelisk commemorate these workers as well as the Cuban doctor who discovered how mosquitoes transmit yellow fever, and stand along with a statue of Pablo Arosemena, one of the first presidents of Panama. Plaza de Francia was originally a courtyard in the Chiriquí military barracks, and was converted into a plaza designed by architect Leonardo Villanueva Meyer in 1922. It was renovated once more in 1982, and today poinciana trees hold their bright orange blossoms out over the grass opposite from the pedestals of the memorial.