National Museum of Costa RicaMuseo Nacional de Costa Rica

National Museum of Costa Rica, founded in 1887, occupies the former Bellavista Fortress, a military barracks recast as a civic landmark after the army was abolished in 1948. Its collections read the country in layers: Diquís stone spheres, gold and ceramics from regions such as Greater Nicoya (500–1500), and objects that trace colonial rule, the coffee-era republic, and modern social democracy. In central San José it is often taken as a quiet emblem of Costa Rica’s choice to anchor national identity in history, science, and peace.