Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [110]
On the side wall, just around the corner from the entrance, you’ll find a small window with a cross on top. Heretics were denounced here, and the Holy Office would then instigate proceedings. The principal ‘crimes’ were magic, witchcraft and blasphemy. When culprits were found guilty they were sentenced to death in a public auto-da-fé. Five autos-da-fé took place during the Inquisition until independence in 1821. About 800 folk were condemned to death and executed. The Inquisition did not judge the indigenous people.
The palace is today a museum ( 664 4570; Plaza de Bolívar; adult/child COP$10,000/7000; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm Sun), which displays the Inquisitors’ gnarly instruments of torture (a scary sight but by far the most fascinating thing here), pre-Columbian pottery and historical objects dating from both colonial and independence times, including arms, paintings, furniture and church bells. There is also a good model of Cartagena from the beginning of the 19th century and an interesting collection of old maps of the Nuevo Reino de Granada from various periods. There are not, unfortunately, English translations, but guides (COP$15,000/20,000 for Spanish/English) are available should you be so inclined.
Museo del Oro y Arqueología
The Cartagena Gold Museum ( 660 0778; Plaza de Bolívar; admission free; 10am-1pm & 3-7pm Tue-Fri, 10am-1pm & 2-5pm Sat, 11am-4pm Sun) is like a miniature version of Bogotá’s world-class gold museum Click here. Though small, it offers a fascinating collection of gold and pottery of the Sinú (also known as Zenú) people, who inhabited the region of the present-day departments of Bolívar, Córdoba, Sucre and northern Antioquia before the Spanish Conquest. The detail of some pieces are exquisite and should you be heading towards Bogotá, offers just a taste of the bigger and grander museum there.
Catedral
Work on the Cathedral (adult/child COP$10,000/7000; 9:30am-6:30pm Tue-Sun) began in 1575, but in 1586, while still under construction, it was partially destroyed by the cannons of Francis Drake, and not completed until 1612. Alterations were made between 1912 and 1923 by the first archbishop of Cartagena, who covered the church with stucco and painted it to look like marble. He commissioned the dome on the tower. Restoration work has uncovered the lovely limestone on the building’s exterior. Apart from the tower’s top, the church has basically preserved its original form. It has a fortlike appearance and a simply decorated interior with three naves and massive semicircular archways supported on high, stone columns. The main retable, worked in gold leaf, dates from the 18th century.
Like Iglesia de Santo Domingo (below), you can now take a self-guided audio tour that lasts about 25 minutes.
Iglesia de Santo Domingo
The Santo Domingo Church ( 664 1301; Plaza de Santo Domingo; adult/child COP$10,000/7000; 9am-7pm Tue-Sat, noon-8pm Sun) built toward the end of the 16th century, is reputedly the oldest church in the city. It was originally built in 1539 in Plaza de los Coches, but the original building succumbed to fire and was rebuilt in its present location in 1552. Builders gave it a particularly wide central nave and covered it with a heavy roof, but it seems they were not too good at their calculations and the vault began to crack. Massive buttresses had to be added to the walls to support the structure and prevent it from collapsing. The builders also had problems with the bell tower, which is distinctly crooked.
The interior is spacious and lofty. The legendary figure of Christ carved in wood is set in the baroque altar at the head of the right-hand aisle. The floor in front of the high altar and in the two aisles is paved with old tombstones dating mostly from the 19th