Splendors of the origins
The archaeological parks of San Agustin and Tierradentro are both classified as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The first one is the biggest group of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures of South America... nearly 600 in total! Its organization is astonishing: vast funerary tumuli being able to go up to 30 m in diameter are connected there by a network of terraces, paths and earthen roads. These mounds shelter tombs with corridors supported by columns and sheltering stone sarcophagi. But the most astonishing wealth of the site lies in its statuary. Abstract or figurative, mythical or realistic, these stone giants were carved in the volcanic rock and play the role of protectors
The park of Tierradentro, shelters the biggest concentration of pre-Columbian hypogeums. These vast underground tombs carved in the tuff, whose depth could go up to 9 m, were thought as real houses. A flight of steps allowed access to a living room and then to the burial chamber. The largest of them, with a diameter sometimes reaching 12 m, had a domed structure supported by central columns. Niches and pilasters adorned the walls, which were themselves covered with geometric, anthropomorphic or zoomorphic paintings in red and black on a white background. Imposing statues, carved in the volcanic rock, protected the tombs and ceremonial sites. The researchers were able to determine that the populations of the time had established their dwelling sites on artificial terraces obtained thanks to the technique of the compressed earth. The dwellings, with their wooden structure, cob walls and thatched roofs, were then distributed according to an oval plan
A system of terraces designed to compensate for the uneven topography found among the Tayronas who settled in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Here, the terraces were not made of earth, but of stone and supported by imposing walls. They were also connected by an incredible system of terraces, stairs and stone paths. Of the hundreds of villages that the Tayronas established, the Ciudad Perdida is the one that has best stood the test of time. Erected between the 11th and 14th centuries, it preserves about 170 residential and ceremonial terraces and a network of stone paths radiating from the central core of the city established on a ridge... a real engineering feat! The Muiscas, them, developed an architecture based on the principles of the astronomy, as proves their Estacion Astronomica, not far from El Fosil. Measuring the length of the shadows cast by the 115 cylindrical monoliths erected 1 m apart on 2 parallel lines separated by 9 m allowed the Muiscas to determine the seasons and to plan the agricultural work accordingly. Finally, know that Colombia also shelters some vestiges of the legendary Qhapaq Nan, the vast network of communication and trade routes imagined by the Incas and crossing the Andes on thousands of kilometers!
Colonial heritage
If each city has its own identity, common characteristics allow to draw the contours of a colonial architecture whose incredible refinement illustrates wonderfully the saying that in Colombia, "all the Spaniards felt like kings"! First of all, in terms of urban planning, the Spanish colonists used clear and geometric plans that divided the cities into barrios (neighborhoods) and cuadras (blocks). The network of cobblestone streets leads to the city's focal point: the Plaza Mayor, a large square lined with the landmark buildings of the churches and palaces of the colonial administration. Some of the squares were also lined with arcades that housed boutique houses. The Parques, or large green spaces, are also very important. In terms of architecture, colonial houses can be recognized by their one-story structure, their red-tiled roofs contrasting with their whitewashed adobe walls and punctuated by balconies, iron railings and woodwork, all of which are worked with a sublime attention to detail. These houses are, most often, organized around a central patio lined with arcades. The religious buildings are characterized by an exterior sobriety that does not suggest the richness of the interior decoration, which combines colorful frescoes and golden altarpieces, Mudejar (delicate and refined Hispano-Moorish art) and Baroque styles. In the most remote areas, the missionary congregations developed an architectural style mixing Catholic tradition and native rituals in order to promote the conversion of the local populations, as shown by the temples of San Miguel de Avirama or San Antonio de Chinas for example. Rectangular in plan, these temples have a structure of wood and cob laid on stone foundations and covered by a roof of vegetable matter. At the front, a chapel delimited by an arcade operates a transition interior/exterior, like an echo of the rites of the native people. Mompox, with its ingenious system of dykes and dams and its beautiful boutique houses; Villa de Leyva and its Plaza Mayor, one of the largest central squares in America; Tunja and the incredible ceilings of the Casa del Fundador Suarez Rendon and Casa de Don Juan de Vargas with their decorations mixing mythological scenes, tropical plants, Spanish coats of arms and Catholic imagery. the bright Popayan, nicknamed the Ciudad Blanca; the Candelaria, the old city of Bogota, with its sloping streets, its Iglesia-Museo de Santa Clara with its barrel vault covered with golden floral motifs and its walls decorated with nearly 150 paintings and sculptures; the villages of the province of Sugamuxi, including the picturesque Mongui and its buildings painted in green and white; the Iglesia San Francisco de Cali with its brick bell tower in Mudejar style.. there are so many treasures to discover. But if we had to choose only one, it would obviously be the legendary and sublime Cartagena
Its Palacio de la Inquisición with its marvelous baroque stone portal; its Iglesia de Santo Toribio de Mangrovejo with its Mudejar wooden coffered ceiling; or its Convento de San Pedro Claver, a superb three-story building organized around a tree-lined courtyard, are among its treasures of stone, brick and ceramics (wood having been forbidden after the 1552 fire). But what makes the city unique are its incredible defense systems. Las Murallas, the city walls, frame the old town, while a network of forts control the natural passes and channels. The most famous of all these forts is the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, the largest Spanish colonial fortress! Its engineer, Antonio de Arevalo, devised a system of tunnels connecting the different strategic points of the fort and designed it so that the slightest noise would reverberate throughout the network... the enemies didn't stand a chance! Another feat: Las Bovedas, vaulted vaults built into the walls, nearly 15 meters thick, used to store provisions and ammunition. The Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, with its trapiche or mill-press and its distillery, evokes the splendor of the great haciendas of the time of the exploitation of the sugar cane.
Eclecticism and independence
From Independence to the 1930s, the country opted for an almost systematic use of neo styles. The Archbishop of Bogotá had the Cathedral covered with stucco and paintings with a marble effect and a Renaissance-style dome; Medellin had a neo-Romanesque cathedral, and the Virgen del Rosario, the oldest painting in Colombia, was protected by the Basilica de la Virgen de Chiquinquira, a huge neoclassical sanctuary with three naves and 17 chapels. The Government Palace in Manizales is neoclassical, as are the Capitolio Nacional, the Casa de Narino, and the Edificio Leviano, whose façade is punctuated by countless windows placed in a rigorously symmetrical manner. The Teatro Nacional, designed by the Italian architect Pietro Cantini, has a horseshoe-shaped interior with sumptuous boxes reminiscent of the finest Italian theaters. As for the Museo Nacional, it is housed in the astonishing El Panoptico, a huge Greek cross-shaped building originally used as a prison! But this period is not only the one of historicizing styles, it is also the one of the beginnings of modernity and masterpieces of civil engineering. Bogota got itsfirst tramway, while Santa Fe de Antioquia saw the birth of the Puente de Occidente, one of the first suspension bridges on the continent, which spanned the Rio Cuca for 291 meters. In terms of architecture, the elegant and geometric lines of Art Deco appeared, as shown by the Palacio Municipal in Medellin, before giving way to the first reinforced concrete structures, such as the church in Manizales and its imposing 106 m high tower. Modernity is on the march!
Modern and contemporary architecture
Modern Colombian architecture was largely influenced by exiled architects who brought with them the trends then in vogue in Europe. This is the case of the German architect and urban planner Leopoldo Rother, a great master of concrete rationalism, and planner of the National University of Bogota since 1936. It was with these European mentors that the two great figures of Colombian architecture were trained: German Samper and Rogelio Salmona. Very close to Le Corbusier, German Samper is famous for his rational and monumental architecture. Between 1954 and 2009, he built many corporate headquarters and public facilities in Bogota, while working on the planning of modest self-built neighborhoods. The Museo del Oro in Bogotá and the Bank of the Republic in Barranquilla are among his best known achievements. Nominated for the Pritzker Prize (the Nobel Prize for Architecture) and winner of the National Architecture Prize four times, Rogelio Salmona has become an icon in Colombia. Breaking away from the very austere codes of rationalism, the architect has imagined a monumental but organic style, all curves and deeply respectful of the topography and the spirit of the place. A style recognizable among all thanks to his use of brick. Among his most astonishing works are: the Torres del Parque building complex in Bogotá, where the red of the brick is in dialogue with the green of the omnipresent vegetation; the Casa de Huespedes Ilustres and Casa Garcia Marquez in Cartagena, with their sumptuous courtyards; the MAMBO, Bogotá's museum of modern art; and above all, the Virgilio Barco Library in Bogotá, an astonishing bunker-rotunda made of concrete and illuminated by a zenithal light. Today, this creative effervescence continues, especially in Medellin. As part of the 2008-2011 Security and Violence Prevention Program, the city has designed, in collaboration with the population, 9 CAI (police and administration centers), astonishing concrete parallelepipeds with colored bases, lighting up the outlying neighborhoods like lighthouses. Comuna 13 is also adorned with 1,000 colors, as well as large escalators offering residents a real link with the city. Other must-sees in the city are the Biblioteca España, incredible monoliths with angles and edges echoing the surrounding rock structures and whose facades are pierced only by small square windows offering a subdued light conducive to study; and of course, El MAMM, the Museum of Modern Art and its extension, an astonishing imbrication of concrete volumes and structures chiseled like moucharabiehs
In Barranquilla, don't miss the undulating façade of the Carnival Museum and its incredible explosion of colors, nor the steel structure covered with colored laminated glass of La Ventana al Mundo. In Bogotá, the most amazing architectural innovations can be found in the Botanical Garden! Don't miss the Orquideorama and the organic architecture of its flower-trees with honeycomb tops, the aerial greenhouses of the Tropicario and the Herbarium, whose largely buried structure blends into the landscape thanks to its green roof. An environmental concern that we find in Puerto Nariño with its pedestrian landscaped avenues, its rainwater collection tanks and its recycling system that the Tikuna, Cocoma and Yagua Indians will be happy to introduce you to through their eco-tourism programs. But nothing will ever be more crazy and sustainable than the incredible project of architect Octavio Mendoza called Casa Terracota, in Villa de Leyva. The goal? To use only natural resources. Entirely made of clay (an insulating and very resistant material), the house was built and sculpted by hand... its creator calls it "the biggest pottery in the world"!
Vernacular riches
Guatapé is famous for its traditional houses whose lower parts are decorated with bas-reliefs of bright colors, populated with geometric and anthropomorphic forms. This art of color can be found on the facades of the beautiful rural town of Jardín, or on the houses of the amazing Santa Cruz del Islote. On less than 1 hectare live 1,200 people distributed in 90 single-storey houses, some of which are built on floating artificial structures... which makes it the most populated island in the world! In the Great Marsh Ciénaga Grande of Santa Marta, the fishermen populations have imagined a habitat on stilts. To enlarge the space, some inhabitants build patios whose base is an accumulation of oyster shells, branches, mud and rubble to create a protected area from humidity. In Cabo de la Vela, you can stay in the traditional cactus huts of the Wayúu fishermen; while all over the country, the cabanas or wooden chalets with sloping roofs welcome you for the night. Classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site, Colombia's Coffee Cultural Landscape is home to numerous constructions using the Bahareque technique, which consists of using cob and woven cane to create the framework of the walls and a vegetal cover with a layer of bamboo for better insulation. Resistance and malleability characterize this technique. Finally, don't miss the most unusual and spectacular building in the country: the salt cathedral of Zipaquira, dug 180 meters deep, with its 14 chapels representing the stations of the cross... and indirectly symbolizing the hard and dangerous work of salt miners.
