Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Iglesia de Santo Domingo
Calle Cobija • Free
Unexceptional by Potosí's standards, the
Iglesia de Santo Domingo
dates back to 1620, but
was extensively remodelled in the nineteenth century in Neoclassical style. It's rarely open to
the public, but if you manage to get in before or after the Sunday-morning service, check out
the carved wooden statue of the Virgen del Rosario, which was brought over from Spain in
the sixteenth century and used as a model by Tupac Yupanqui when he carved the
Virgen de
Copacabana
in 1582.
Calle Chuquisaca
On and around Calle Chuquisaca, a block south of Plaza 10 de Noviembre, are some of
Potosí's best preserved and most luxurious
colonial town houses
, their carved stone door-
ways decorated with the coats of arms of the Spanish noblemen who owned them. Many are
painted in pastel shades - such as pale blue or lemon yellow - or the rich ochre colour made
with natural pigments from the red earth of Cerro Rico.
Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco
Calle Tarija • Mon-Fri 9am-noon & 2-5pm, Sat 9.30am-noon • Bs15
A couple of blocks south of Chuquisaca is the
Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco
, once a
church and convent and now a museum, worth visiting for the views from its roof, as well as
for its collection of colonial religious art. The original church, the first to be built in Potosí,
was created when the Franciscan monastery was founded in 1547, but demolished in 1707
and replaced by the bulky structure you see today.
The main point of interest inside is the reputedly miraculous statue of the
Señor de la Vera
Cruz
, the patron saint of Potosí, which stands behind the altar. According to legend, this
statue of a crucified Christ appeared in front of the church one morning in 1550 and was ad-
optedbytheFranciscans.Christ'sbeardismadeofrealhumanhairandissaidtoneedregular
trimming, while the cross is also thought to grow a little each year - some believe the world
will end when it reaches the floor of the church. Among the paintings on display are two big
canvases by Holguín, one a luridly detailed Day of Judgement. The climb up onto the roof of
the church is well worth it for the panoramic
views
. You can also visit the
crypts
, where the
skulls of the monks and wealthy citizens buried here lie in heaps.
Ingenio San Marcos
Calle La Paz • Mon-Sat 2.30-6.30pm • Bs5
The
Ingenio San Marcos
is the only colonial-era silver foundry to have survived in a reason-
able state of preservation and is now a museum. You can see the raised stone canal that car-
ried water from the lakes and reservoirs in the mountains above the city - the water was used
to power the huge waterwheel and heavy stone hammers that crushed the ore for processing
