Florencia (Spanish pronunciation: [floˈɾensja], English: Florence) is a municipality and the capital city of the Department of Caquetá, Colombia. It is the most populous city in the Amazon Region of Colombia. It lies on the Orteguaza River which flows into the Caqueta River. Its population is 177,946 in 2023.^[3][4]

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Quick Facts Country, Region ...

Florencia
Municipality and city
Top: View of Plaza Pizarro, Second: A sightseeing boat at Biblioteca River, Third: House of the Episcopal Curia, Four: Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport Bottom: Piedmont of Florencia
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Golden Gate to the Colombian Amazonia
Location of the municipality and town of Florencia in the Caquetá Department of Colombia.
Florencia Location in Colombia
Coordinates: 1°36′50″N 75°36′46″W
Country	Colombia
Region	Amazonas Region
Department	Caquetá Department
Founded	1902
Incorporated	1912
Founded by	Doroteo de Pupiales
Named for	Florence
Government
• Mayor	María Susana Portela
Area
• Municipality and city	2,548 km2 (984 sq mi)
• Urban	20.21 km2 (7.80 sq mi)
Elevation	242 m (794 ft)
Population  (2023)[1]
• Municipality and city	177,946
• Rank	35th in Colombia
• Density	70/km2 (180/sq mi)
	DANE
Demonym(s)	Florencian florenciano (m), -na (f) florentino (m), -na (f)
Ethnicity [2]
• White/Mestizo	95.9%
• Afro	3.3%
• Amerindian	0.8%
Time zone	UTC-05 (Colombia Standard Time)
Postal code	180001–180009
Area code	57 + 8
Major airport	Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport
Website	Official website (in Spanish)

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The name of the city pays homage to an Italian businessman dedicated to the rubber trade, Paolo Ricci, from the city of Florence.^[5]

The area where Florencia is located was inhabited by tribes of the Andaquí ethnic group.^[6] The territory where the city is located was also inhabited by Witoto and Coreguaje [es] tribes. In 1542, the territory was explored for the first time by the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Pérez de Quesada.^[7] Florencia was founded on December 25, 1902 by Capuchin Friar Doroteo De Pupiales (1876-1959) Born in Pupiales, Nariño, Colombia. Rubber plantations around several areas of what is now known as the department of Caqueta encouraged the creation of the city next to the Hacha River [es].^[8] The city became an important site after the creation of the trail between the settlement and the town of Guadalupe in what is now the department of Huila.^[8]

Florencia is located at the foot of the Cordillera Oriental mountain range. The municipality of Florencia limits to the north with the Huila Department and the municipality of El Paujil, to the east with the municipalities of El Paujil and La Montañita, to the south with the municipalities of Milán and Morelia, and to the west with the municipality of Belén de Andaquies and the Huila Department.

Florencia has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af), and experiences significant rainfall during the course of the year. There is still a large amount of rainfall, even in the driest month. The average temperature in Florencia is 26.1 °C or 79.0 °F. In Florencia, January is the driest month, while June tends to be the wettest month. About 3,840 millimetres or 150 inches of rain falls annually during the year.

According to a report of the first half of 2022 by the MinCIT, the main economic activities of the city were Trade and repair of vehicles with 22.6%, followed by Public Administration and Defense with 18.8% and third, Artistic Activities with 10.9%.^[11]

• El Encanto Petroglyphs: These petroglyphs are located to the left of the Hacha River near Barrio Torasso. The engravings are approximately 16 meters long.^[12] They were first described by archaeologist Eliécer Silva Celis in 1963. Among the petroglyphs are Zoomorphic and Human figures.^[13]
• Curiplaya Building: A historic building of colonial architecture built in the 1950s. This building served as a hotel, currently it houses some cultural entities of the municipality and the department.^[14] In addition it is the headquarters of the Palace of Culture and Fine Arts of the Amazon (Spanish: Palacio de la Cultura y Bellas Artes de la Amazonía).^[15] The building was declared a national cultural property in 2000 by the Colombian Ministry of Culture.^[16] The name "Curiplaya" means "Golden Beach" in the Witoto language.^[15]

• Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral, Florencia
• Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport