Today, Cidade Velha is an Atlantic shipping stop and center for Creole culture. The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World in 2009. With a geostrategic position, Old Town served as a bridge of communication between Africa and America. The islands of Cape Verde played an important role in the process of spreading slave trade. The Portuguese settlers made the port of Ribeira Grande, now the Old Town, a strong and exclusive point of slave trade to Europe and America, where slaves brought from the African coast were trained and sent to the new world.