White facade
Red door.
Felipe Restrepo Acosta — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Felipe Restrepo Acosta — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Felipe Restrepo Acosta — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Felipe Restrepo Acosta — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Felipe Restrepo Acosta — CC BY-SA 4.0
Santa Marta's Basilica Cathedral is a gleaming white church in the historic centre of Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. A rectangular bell tower stands on the left of the facade, a white dome rises at the back, a large red wooden door faces the square, and a tree-shaded plaza lies beside it. The cathedral was built in the 1760s; its first stone was laid on 8 December 1766, to plans by the architect Juan Cayetano Chacón. It is in Renaissance style and is counted as the first church built in an ecclesiastical jurisdiction in South America. Simón Bolívar's body lay here from 1830 to 1842 before being moved to Caracas, and since 1953 it has held the remains of Rodrigo de Bastidas, the city's founder. Its tower is capped by a Byzantine-style dome said to be unique in Colombia. You see the white facade, tower and dome from the square, and walk the old streets around it near the sea. The cathedral is at the heart of the historic centre, a short walk from the waterfront. It is a working church, so cover your shoulders and knees, and do not wander during Mass.
Red door.
White.
Tree-shaded.
Historic centre, Santa Marta
The city's founder, Rodrigo de Bastidas.
Clothes covering shoulders and knees.