In front of you is Cartagena Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It is one of the oldest in the Americas. Before it there were two others, of straw and wood, which did not survive the fires of the 16th century.
1Building work interrupted by a privateer
Work on the stone church began in 1577, to plans by the master builder Simón González. In 1586, while it was still half built, the English privateer Francis Drake captured the city. His cannons damaged the church, and Drake only left after collecting a hefty ransom. Construction was delayed and the cathedral was not completed until 1612.
Drake's attack had another consequence: it convinced the Crown that Cartagena needed walls. That is the origin of the great fortified enclosure you are walking through today.
2The tower you see
The original tower was simpler, as the 1871 engraving shows. In the early 20th century the French architect Gaston Lelarge, who also worked on the National Capitol in Bogotá, redesigned it with the crown you see now. Today it is one of the symbols of the city.
From any rooftop in the old town, the cathedral dome tells you where you are.
3What to look for
- Lelarge's tower, with its colourful dome.
- The stone walls, as thick as a fortress's.
- The main doorway, plain and Renaissance in style.
Documented
The cathedral was begun in 1577, damaged in Drake's attack of 1586 and completed in 1612; the present tower is by Gaston Lelarge, from the early 20th century.
Sources and credits
Archdiocese of Cartagena de Indias; Revista Apuntes (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana), «Dos iglesias cartageneras del siglo XVI»; Enrique Marco Dorta, «Cartagena de Indias: puerto y plaza fuerte» (1960).
Photos:
- Tower of Cartagena Cathedral, topped by a pinkish dome, rising above the rooftops: Luis Fernando Maguin, CC BY-SA 3.0.
- Old engraving of Cartagena Cathedral with its colonial tower: Autor desconocido, Dominio público.
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