page_title: Coro, Venezuela
section_title: Monuments and tourist attractions
hierarchical_section_title: Coro, Venezuela / Conservation and World Heritage Site / Monuments and tourist attractions
caption_attribution_description: Español: Casa de Francisco Campuzano Polanco en Coro
context_page_description: Coro is the capital of Falcón State and the second oldest city of Venezuela. It was founded on July 26, 1527 by Juan de Ampíes as Santa Ana de Coro. It is established at the south of the Paraguaná Peninsula in a coastal plain, flanked by the Médanos de Coro National Park to the north and the Sierra de Coro to the south, at a few kilometers from its port in the Caribbean Sea at a point equidistant between the Ensenada de La Vela and Golfete de Coro.
  It has a wide cultural tradition that comes from being the urban settlement founded by the Spanish conquerors who colonized the interior of the continent. It was the first capital of the Venezuela Province and head of the first bishop founded in South America in 1531. As Neu-Augsburg, it was the first German colony in the Americas under the Welsers. The precursor movement of the independence and of vindication of the dominated classes in Venezuela originated in this region; it is also considered to be the cradle of the Venezuelan federalist movement in the Republican era.
context_section_description: From its historic colonial architecture to its diverse landscapes, Coro provides various forms of tourist attraction. In the extreme northeast of the city are the Médanos de Coro National Park, large dunes that are the only desert in Venezuela. They are located along the road that runs between the colonial area of the city to the port of La Vela de Coro. The colonial town, a World Heritage Site, preserves a typical urban landscape of the 18th and 19th centuries, with its cobbled streets and hundreds of historic and traditional buildings. Some architectures reflects a Mudéjar style, while others reflect the cultural influence of the Netherlands through the colony of Curaçao. In the city there are interesting Catholic and civilians buildings, that were the scene of numerous events of historic significance, since the early Republican period. Probably the architectural influences of Coro are unique.
  Among the buildings and places of interest highlights include:
  Cathedral Basilica of St. Ann, Coro
  Since the creation of the Diocese of Coro by the Papal Bull of July 21, 1531, it directed the building of the Cathedral of one of the temples of Coro and in 1567 the cathedral is sacked by the Corsair Francis Drake. The current structure dates from 1583 and was completed by the end of the 17th century, making it the oldest Catholic church in Tierra Firma.
  Casa de las Ventanas de Hierro
  Magnificent mansion built in the 17th century by Don José Francisco Garcés de la Colina. This is a house that has a portal that rises to more than eight feet high, and so named because of the large windows protected by a wrought iron structure that was imported from Andalusia.
  Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco
  This religious complex consists in a church with three naves and an annex building that was a Franciscan monastery, which now houses the Diocesan Museum "Lucas Guillermo Castillo ". It begins to build in the 16th century and was destroyed by pirates in 1620. Its neo-Gothic tower is of more recent construction stands over 50 meters, which makes it the highest of all assets. In 1985 the Lucas Guillermo Castillo Museum managed to acquire a place called La Casa Manzano Campuzano or Casa de los Capriles next to the convent.
  Iglesia de San Clemente
  It has its origins in a church commanded to be built by the founder of the city Juan de Ampíes in the 16th century. It is a cruciform building where each end pointing towards a central point. It is one of the few examples of colonial architecture in the form of a cross in Venezuela.
  Casa del Tesoro
  Mansion built in 1770 by the Talavera family, and on this was born  Bishop Mariano de Talavera, which famous corian that supported the cause of independence. The origin of its name is from the legend that in its land would be buried a treasure that has not yet been located.
  Alberto Henríquez Museum of Art
  The house built was built in the first half of the XVIII century by the lieutenant governor of Coro Don Francisco Campuzano Polanco as his residence and bought on 1847 by Mr. David Abraham Senior, a sephardic trader from Curaçao who built there the Coro Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in Latin America. Currently, the synagogue is part of the Alberto Henríquez Museum of Art, which belongs to Universidad Francisco de Miranda.
  Balcón de los Arcaya
  Great two-story building and topped with a wooden balcony on the second floor. It was built in the 18th century as residence  to the Colina Peredo family and takes its name from the family that occupied it since the mid-19th century and which was donated to the nation. It houses the People Earthenware Museum.
  Balcón de Bolívar
  Also known as Balcón de los Senior. It served as military headquarters of the patriot forces during the War of Independence. It is said that the Liberator Simón Bolívar stayed there on December 23, 1826 and from the balcony greeted the patriots who gathered outside to greet him. It houses theCoro Art Museum.
  Cruz de San Clemente
  It is said that St. Clement's Cross marks the spot where the first mass officiate at South America. It is shelte
caption: Alberto Henríquez Museum of Art
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