Líbano, Tolima
| Líbano, Tolima | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
|
aerial photo of Líbano. | |
 Location of the municipality and town of Líbano, Tolima in the Tolima Department of Colombia. | |
| Coordinates: 4°55′N 75°10′W / 4.917°N 75.167°W | |
| Country |
 Colombia |
| Department | Tolima Department |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 299.44 km2 (115.61 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 3.28 km2 (1.27 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,565 m (5,135 ft) |
| Time zone | Colombia Standard Time (UTC-5) |
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Líbano is a town and municipality in the Tolima department of Colombia. The population of the municipality was 39,785 as of the 1993 census. Along with Honda, Tolima, Líbano is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Líbano-Honda.
History
The Panches, Pantagoras, Bledos, and Marquetones appear to have been the first peoples of the region. They were among the tribes most feared by the Muisca. Their society was an aristocratic hierarchy headed by a chief.
By the mid-nineteenth century, settlers from Antioquia explored south in search of vacant land, and mines, to be acquired by degrees of effort and incorporated into the nacional economy. A caravan of Antioqueños led by Isidro Parra, found a valley planted with cedars and oaks, and constructed a few huts. The hamlet was named Líbano, the Spanish word for Lebanon.
The layout of the built-up area of Líbano was organized as a village in 1886. From 1900 until now, Líbano developed as an important village, pushing dirt roads in all directions.
Socio-economic development of the region was guided by its founders from the development of mining and power to the cultivation of coffee, which has become the main characteristic element of the economy, society and culture of the area.
The city of Líbano is the see of the Diocese of Líbano-Honda created by Pope John Paul II on July 26, 1989, by the Bull "Ita Iam." The territorial area of the diocese covers an area of 3,477 km ² with approximately 240,000 inhabitants. Its first bishop was Monsignor José Luis Serna Alzate, who took office on October 7, 1989. On February 12, 2005 took over as third bishop of the Diocese Bishop José Miguel Gómez Rodríguez, the current bishop.
Geography
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The municipality of Líbano is located in the north of the department of Tolima, about 120 miles north of Ibague, the departmental capital. Líbano is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Armero and Villahermosa, to the West by the municipality of Murillo, to the East by the municipalities of Lérida and Santa Isabel, and to the south by Santa Isabel.
