Splendors of the origins
The archaeological parks of San Agustin and Tierradentro are both Unesco World Heritage Sites. The former is the largest group of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in South America... nearly 600 in all! Its organization is astonishing: vast funerary tumuli up to 30 m in diameter are linked by a network of terraces, paths and earthen causeways. These mounds are home to column-supported corridor tombs containing stone sarcophagi. But the site's most astonishing wealth lies in its statuary. Abstract or figurative, mythical or realistic, these stone giants were carved out of volcanic rock and act as protectors.
Tierradentro Park is home to the largest concentration of pre-Columbian hypogeums. These vast subterranean tombs carved out of tufa rock, up to 9 m deep, were conceived as veritable homes. A flight of steps gave access to a living room and then to the burial chamber. The largest of these, sometimes up to 12 m in diameter, had a domed structure supported by central columns. Niches and pilasters adorned the walls, which were themselves covered with red and black geometric, anthropomorphic or zoomorphic paintings on a white background. Imposing statues, carved from volcanic rock, protected tombs and ceremonial sites. Researchers were able to determine that the populations of the time had established their dwelling sites on artificial terraces obtained using the compressed earth technique. The dwellings, with their wooden structures, cob walls and thatched roofs, were laid out on an oval plan.
This system of terraces was devised to compensate for the uneven topography of the area, as was the case with 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 linked by an incredible system of stone terraces, staircases and paths. Of the hundreds of villages established by the Tayronas, Ciudad Perdida is the one that has best stood the test of time. Erected between the 11th and 14th centuries, it retains some 170 residential and ceremonial terraces and a network of stone paths radiating out from the town's central core on a ridge... a true feat of engineering! The Muiscas, for their part, developed an architecture based on the principles of astronomy, as demonstrated by their Estacion Astronomica, not far from El Fosil. By measuring the length of the shadows cast by the 115 cylindrical monoliths set 1 m apart on 2 parallel lines 9 m apart, the Muiscas were able to determine the seasons and plan their agricultural work accordingly. Last but not least, Colombia is also home to some of the remains of the legendary Qhapaq Nan, the vast network of communication and trade routes devised by the Incas and stretching for thousands of kilometers across the Andes!
Colonial heritage
While each city has its own unique identity, there are some common features that can be traced back to a colonial architecture whose incredible refinement perfectly illustrates the adage that in Colombia, "all Spaniards felt like kings"! In terms of urban planning, the Spanish colonists generally used clear, geometric plans dividing towns into barrios (neighborhoods) and cuadras (city blocks). The network of cobbled streets led to the city's focal point: the Plaza Mayor, a large square lined with landmark buildings such as churches and the palaces of the colonial administration. Some squares were also lined with arcades housing boutique houses. Parques, or large green spaces, are also very important. Architecturally, colonial houses are recognizable by their single-storey structure, red-tiled roofs contrasting with whitewashed adobe walls and punctuated by balconies, iron railings and woodwork, all crafted with sublime attention to detail. These houses are usually organized around a central patio lined with arcades. Religious buildings, on the other hand, are characterized by an exterior sobriety that gives no hint of the decorative wealth inside, where colorful frescoes and gilded altarpieces blend with Mudejar (delicate, refined Hispano-Moorish art) and Baroque styles. In the most remote areas, missionary congregations developed an architectural style that blended Catholic tradition with native rituals to encourage the conversion of local populations, as illustrated by the temples of San Miguel de Avirama and San Antonio de Chinas, for example. Rectangular in plan, these temples feature a structure of wood and cob laid on a stone foundation and covered by a roof of plant material. At the front, a chapel bordered by an arcade creates a transition between inside and outside, echoing the rites of indigenous peoples. Mompox, with its ingenious system of dykes and dams and 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 combining mythological scenes, tropical plants, Spanish coats of arms and Catholic imagery; the dazzling Popayan, nicknamed the Ciudad Blanca ; la Candelaria, Bogotá's old town, with its sloping streets, its Iglesia-Museo de Santa Clara with its barrel vault covered in gilded floral motifs and its walls adorned with almost 150 paintings and sculptures; the villages of Sugamuxi province, including picturesque Mongui and its buildings painted green and white; the Iglesia San Francisco de Cali with its Mudéjar-style brick bell tower.. there are so many treasures to discover. But if we had to choose just one, it would obviously be the legendary and sublime Cartagena.
The Palacio de la Inquisición, with its marvellous Baroque stone portal; the Iglesia de Santo Toribio de Mangrovejo, with its Mudéjar wooden coffered ceiling; and the Convento de San Pedro Claver, a superb 3-storey building set around a tree-lined courtyard, are just some of the city's treasures of stone, brick and ceramics (wood was banned after the fire of 1552). But what makes the city unique are its incredible defensive systems. Las Murallas, the city walls, frame the old town, while a network of forts controls the natural passes and channels. The most famous of these is the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, the largest Spanish colonial fortress! Its engineer, Antonio de Arevalo, devised a system of tunnels linking the fort's various strategic points, so that the slightest noise would reverberate throughout the network... enemies didn't stand a chance! Another feat was Las Bovedas, vaulted vaults built into the 15-metre-thick walls to store provisions and ammunition. The Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, with its trapiche or mill-press and distillery, evokes the splendor of the great haciendas of the sugarcane era.
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 in stucco and marble-effect paint, and endowed it with a Renaissance-style dome; Medellin had a neo-Romanesque cathedral, and the Virgin of the Rosary, Colombia's oldest painting, was protected by the Basilica de la Virgen de Chiquinquira, an immense neoclassical sanctuary with 3 naves and 17 chapels. The Government Palace in Manizales is neoclassical, as are the Capitolio Nacional, the Casa de Narino and the Edificio Leviano in Bogotá, whose facade is punctuated by countless windows in a rigorously symmetrical layout. The Teatro Nacional, designed by Italian architect Pietro Cantini, features a horseshoe-shaped interior with sumptuous boxes reminiscent of the finest Italian theaters. The Museo Nacional, meanwhile, is housed in the astonishing El Panoptico, an immense Greek cross-shaped building originally used as... a prison! But this period was not only one of historicizing styles, it was also one of the beginnings of modernity and civil engineering masterpieces. Bogotá got its1st tramway, while Santa Fe de Antioquia saw the birth of the Puente de Occidente, one of the continent's first suspension bridges, spanning the Rio Cuca for 291 m. In terms of architecture, the elegant, geometric lines of Art Deco made their appearance, as witnessed 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. Such was the case of German architect and urban planner Leopoldo Rother, a great master of concrete rationalism, and planner of Bogotá's National University from 1936 onwards. It was with these European mentors that the two great figures of Colombian architecture were trained: Germán Samper and Rogelio Salmona. Very close to Le Corbusier, Germán Samper is famous for his rational, monumental architecture. Between 1954 and 2009, he provided Bogotá with numerous corporate headquarters and public facilities, while also working on the planning of modest, self-built neighborhoods. Bogotá's Museo del Oro and the Bank of the Republic in Barranquilla are among his best-known achievements. Pritzker-nominated (the Nobel Prize for architecture) and 4-time winner of the National Architecture Award, Rogelio Salmona has become an icon in Colombia. Breaking away from the austere codes of rationalism, the architect has imagined a monumental yet organic style, all curves and deeply respectful of the topography and spirit of the place. His use of brick makes this style instantly recognizable. Among his most astonishing works are: the Torres del Parque building complex in Bogotá, where the red of the bricks dialogues with the green of the omnipresent vegetation; the Casa de Huéspedes Ilustres and Casa García Márquez in Cartagena, with their sumptuous courtyards; MAMBO, Bogotá's museum of modern art; and, above all, the Virgilio Barco Library in Bogotá, an astonishing concrete bunker-rotunda lit by zenithal light. This creative effervescence continues to this day, particularly in Medellín. As part of the city's 2008-2011 Security and Violence Prevention Program, 9 CAI (police and administration centers) were designed in collaboration with the local population. These astonishing concrete parallelepipeds with colored bases light up the outlying neighborhoods like lighthouses. Comuna 13 has also been decked out in 1,000 colors, with large escalators providing residents with a real link with the city. Other must-sees in the city include the Biblioteca España, an incredible monolith with angles and ridges echoing the surrounding rock structures, 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 interweaving of concrete volumes and structures chiselled like moucharabiehs.
In Barranquilla, don't miss the undulating façade of the Carnival Museum and its incredible explosion of color, or the steel structure covered in coloured laminated glass of La Ventana al Mundo. In Bogotá, the most astonishing architectural innovations are to be found in the Botanical Gardens! Don't miss the Orquideorama and the organic architecture of its honeycomb-topped flower-trees, the aerial greenhouses of the Tropicario and the Herbarium, whose largely buried structure blends into the landscape thanks to its green roof. Puerto Nariño is no exception, with its pedestrian landscaped avenues, rainwater collection tanks and recycling system, which the Tikuna, Cocoma and Yagua Indians will be delighted to introduce you to through their eco-tourism programs. But nothing will ever be as crazy and sustainable as architect Octavio Mendoza's incredible Casa Terracota project in Villa de Leyva. The aim? To use only natural resources. Made entirely of clay (a highly resistant insulating material), the house was built and sculpted by hand... its creator calls it "the world's largest pottery"!
Vernacular riches
Guatapé is famous for its traditional houses, whose lower sections are decorated with brightly coloured bas-reliefs, populated by geometric and anthropomorphic shapes. This art of color can also be found on the facades of the pretty rural town of Jardín, or on the houses of the astonishing Santa Cruz del Islote. On an area of less than 1 ha, 1,200 people live in 90 single-storey houses, some of which are built on floating artificial structures... making it the most densely populated island in the world! In Santa Marta's Grand Marais Ciénaga Grande, the fishing communities have imagined a habitat on stilts. To enlarge the space, some inhabitants build patios based on an accumulation of oyster shells, branches, mud and rubble to create an area protected from humidity. In Cabo de la Vela, you can stay in the traditional cactus huts of the Wayúu fishermen; while throughout the country, cabanas or wooden chalets with sloping roofs welcome you for the night. Colombia's Coffee Cultural Landscape, a Unesco World Heritage Site, 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 plant cover with a layer of bamboo for better insulation. Strength and malleability are the hallmarks of this technique. Last but not least, don't miss the country's most unusual and spectacular building: the salt cathedral of Zipaquirá, dug 180 m deep, with its 14 chapels representing the Stations of the Cross... and indirectly symbolizing the harsh and dangerous work of salt miners.
