Where throbbing commerce and natural wonders move in harmony. Naga is one of the seven original royal cities founded in 1575 by Spain. It got its name from the Narra tree, known to natives as naga which thrive in abundance along the riverside since the pre-Hispanic times. With parochial setting still evident in its colonial churches and the ever-smiling faces of people huddled in animated exchange
of pleasantries, this former riverine village of one thousand native settlers in the pre-colonial period has come a long way since the onset of Spanish rule. From “Villa de los Españoles” and “Ciudad de Caceres” in 1579 to “one of Asia’s most improved cities,” Naga today brims with dynamism and energy of a growing metropolis. Its people are vibrant in summer, solemn in Lent, festive in September, joyous in December, and warm and hospitable throughout the year. Against the backdrop of a local government known worldwide for its model governance practices and innovations, the city has been adjudged three times by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the most business-friendly in the country. Owing to its strategic location, Naga positions itself as the religious, commercial, educational, financial and trading center of Bicol. Every September, the city takes center stage as Bicolanos celebrate the country’s most popular and perhaps biggest Marian devotion – the Penafrancia fiesta. Made up of 27 barangays, the city comprises 8,448 hectares of fertile land that extends all the way from the banks of Bicol River to the slopes of Mt. Isarog. About 54 percent of the total land area is agricultural. Twenty-nine percent is residential, and 7% is allocated to forest reserves. The city’s 160,000 population swells to as much as 220,000 at daytime when students, shoppers, traders, and office workers from its environs come to attend school, shop, bring products to trade, and transact business with government offices and private enterprises. Every September, the city’s population rises to around 1.5 million when pilgrims, devotees, and tourists from various places come together to pray and celebrate the weeklong Peñafrancia festivities, a world–renowned Marian celebration whose rich religious history traces its origins from a miraculous icon found in the mountain ranges south of France. Strategically located in the heart of the Bicol peninsula, the city takes it role as the banking and trading center of Bicol Region. Its domestic market caters not only to residents of Metro Naga (which comprises 14 other neighboring towns), but also to southern towns of Quezon, the entire Bicol Region and the Eastern Visayan provinces of Samar, Leyte and central Visayan province of Cebu. To traders, selling in Naga is like selling to the rest of South Luzon and the Eastern and Central Visayan region. In addition, the city is the educational center of the region. It is home to Universidad de Sta. Isabel, one of the country’s oldest universities. Ateneo de Naga University and University of Nueva Caceres, which are among the country’s top schools, are found here.
|Disclaimer: This page is not officially connected to Naga City Government.|
