Catedral Metropolitana

Catedral Metropolitana Review

Any Latin American city centers on its cathedral and main square. Plaza de Bolívar—a statue of South American liberator Simón Bolívar stands watch over the square—is a shady place from which to admire Cartagena's 16th-century cathedral. (It's officially the "Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Santa Catalina de Alejandria.") Construction lasted from 1577-1612. British pirates attacked and pillaged the site about halfway through the process, a fate that befell many buildings in Cartagena in those early days. The colorful bell tower and dome date from the early 20th-century. Inside is a massive gilded altar.