Colombia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 495

Casa de Moneda
The stone-built Casa de Moneda , or mint
(C 11 No. 4-93; Mon-Sat 9am-7pm,
Sun 10am-5pm; free; W www
.banrepcultural.org/museos-y-colleciones
/casa-de-la-moneda), is home to the
Colección Numismática , its displays
chronicling the history of money in
Colombia from the barter systems of
indigenous communities to the design
and production of modern banknotes
and coins. Ramps lead to the Colección
de Arte , featuring a permanent exhibition
of works owned by the Banco de la
República. The predominant focus
here is on contemporary Colombian
artists, but the pieces on display range
from seventeenth-century religious
art through to modern canvases by
twentieth-century painters. Behind
the permanent collection is the Museo
de Arte , a modern, airy building that
houses free, temporary exhibitions of
edgy art, photography and challenging
installations.

Baroque painter Gregorio Vásquez de
Arce y Ceballos.

5

Museo Histórico Policía
Friendly young English-speaking
police offer free guided tours of the
Museo Histórica Policía (C 9 No. 9-27;
Tues-Sun 8am-5pm; free), which are
really worthwhile just to hear about
their experiences. The basement is largely
given over to a display on the notorious
499-day police hunt for drug lord Pablo
Escobar, and includes his Bernadelli
pistol, also known as his “second wife”,
and there's a great view across the city
from the roof.

Museo Militar
Run by the military, the Museo Militar
(C 10 No. 4-92; Tues-Sun 9am-4pm;
free) showcases weaponry through the
ages, jaunty military uniforms, model
battleships, anti-aircraft guns and other
articles relating to the art of war. You
need ID to enter.

Museo de Arte Colonial
Set around a beautiful, leafy courtyard,
the Museo de Arte Colonial (Cra 6 No.
9-77; Tues-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun
10am-4pm; COP$3000) displays fine
colonial-era religious and portrait art,
as well as sculptures and furniture. A
highlight is the exhibition about the
life and work of seventeenth-century

Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo
Nowhere is La Candelaria's grittier,
bohemian side better captured than on
the streets surrounding the Plazoleta del
Chorro de Quevedo (C 12 B and Cra 2).
The tiny plaza is said to be the site of
the first Spanish settlement, though
the tiled-roof colonial chapel on the
southwest corner was built much later.

THE CHURCHES OF LA CANDELARIA
In addition to its cathedral, La Candelaria is teeming with some of the best-preserved
colonial-era churches and convents found in Latin America:
Museo Iglesia de Santa Clara Cra 8
No. 8-91 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun
10am-4pm; COP$3000; W www.museo
iglesiasantaclara.gov.co). Overlooking
Palacio Nariño, the austere exterior, built in
the early part of the seventeenth century
and formerly part of the convent of Clarissa
nuns, contrasts sharply with its opulent
gold-plated interior and Day of the
Dead-looking anaemic Christ.
Iglesia de San Francisco Cra 7 at
Av Jiménez (Mon-Fri 6am-7pm,
Sat & Sun 7am-1pm; free; W www
.templodesanfrancisco.com). Across from

the Gold Museum, San Francisco is
appropriately noted for its particularly
splendid golden altar.
Iglesia de la Concepción C 10 No. 9-50
(Mon-Sat 8am-6pm, Sun 6.30am-1pm;
free). The soaring vault here is a fine
example of the Moorish-influenced Mudéjar
style popular in the sixteenth century.
Iglesia de San Ignacio C 10 No. 6-35
(Mon-Sat, 9am-4.30pm, Sun 11am-1pm;
free). The largest and most impressive of the
colonial-era churches is the domed San
Ignacio founded in 1610 as the first Jesuit
church in Nueva Grenada.