Panteón Nacional
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The Panthéon (Latin Pantheon[1], from Greek Pantheon, meaning "Temple of all the Gods") is a building in the northern edge of the old town of Caracas, Venezuela. It was originally built as a church, but is now used as a famous burial place. The entire central nave is dedicated to Simón Bolívar, with the altar's place taken by the hero's bronze sarcophagus, while lesser luminaries are relegated to the aisles. The national pantheon's vault is covered with 1930s paintings depicting scenes from Bolívar's life, and the huge crystal chandelier glittering overhead was installed in 1883 on the centennial of his birth. It's worth hanging around to catch the ceremonial changing of the guard, held several times a day.
[edit] History
On March 27, 1874, president Antonio Guzmán Blanco decreed the transformation of the church of the Santísima Trinidad of Caracas into a National Pantheon, to conserve the remains of the heroic comrades of Independence and those of eminent people “… according to the designation of the Chamber of the Senate to a proposal of the President of the Republic…” The old church had been constructed by Juan Domingo of the Holy Infant in the middle of the 18th century. An 1812 earthquake destroyed it almost totally. Its slow reconstruction continued under the direction of several engineers and when the decree turned it into a National Pantheon, it was still not finished.
The choice of this temple for so lofty a destiny was motivated as much by its then-panoramic and distant position from the urban nucleus of Caracas, as by its historical antecedents: at their return from Santa Marta, in 1842, the remains of Simón Bolívar had been deposited temporarily in that church. In the church were also buried, in 1851, the remains of the Marquess of the Toro and later, those of José Gregorio Monagas, Andrés Ibarra and Ezequiel Zamora. The decree of Guzmán Blanco was accompanied by the order of the completion of its facades on the basis of the project that finished the church made by the engineer José Gregorio Solano in 1853-1858. It was the first design of neogothic architecture in Venezuela. it consisted of a symmetrical facade of three doors and two angular towers that finished in needles. The works were led, successively, by the engineers Julian Churión, Stolen Juan Manrique, Soriano Takings and Roberto García, the work being inaugurated on 28 October 1875. Nevertheless, the actual consecration of the building occurred on the feast day of San Simón, when the remains of the Liberator were transferred from the cathedral. These were placed in a wooden sarcophagus with silver and gold coating, made in a neogothic style by the French engraver Emile Jacquin. The statue of the Liberator executed in 1842 by the Italian sculptor Pietro Tenerani was also transferred from the cathedral. The sarcophagus and the statue were placed in the space that was used by the priest of the church. From the ceiling, a crystal chandelier from Bacarat with 230 lights was hung. In 1910, the government of Juan Vicente Gómez undertook a general renovation of the building, following the plans of architect Alejandro Chataing. Some changes to the facade were introduced, making it appear more massive, and the inner decoration was modified, placing a sky-light in the ceiling of the nave and adorning the lateral ones with ships' caissons.
The floor was paved with white, gray and black marble slabs. These works were finished in 1911, on the occasion of the centenary of Independence.
Another redesign of the Pantheon was ordered in a decree of the Gómez government in 1929, according to the plans of the architect Manuel Mujica Millán. This consisted of a radical change in the facades to a neocolonial or neobaroque design, adding in the front a third central tower 48 m high and replacing the lateral ones by others, all constructed of reinforced concrete. Also a new porch with a single entrance was added. The height of the lateral facades was increased, opening the windows in harmony with the internal chapels. Also, the entrance stairs were extended and made the more monumental. These works, which gave the building its present aspect, were undertaken during the year 1930 under the direction of Mujica and the engineers Edgar Pardo Stolk, Hernán Ayala and Guillermo A. Salas. Internally, corrections were made in the arches and the columns. The old wooden sarcophagus that contained the remains of El Libertador was replaced by one of bronze, designed by Spanish sculptor Chicharro Gamo and placed on a marble plinth. The previous marble pavement was replaced by a new one; the wooden ceilings were also replaced. The upper part of the nave and of the arches were covered by paintings with allegorical and historical subjects by Tito Salas.
[edit] The National Pantheon
Inside the Pantheon, on both sides of the main recess that contains the tomb and monument of the Liberator, there are niches with the statues of Francisco de Miranda and Antonio José de Sucre, respectively. In other niches, found along the whole of the side walls, there are monuments dedicated to the First Republic, José Gregorio Monagas, Andrés Bello, José Antonio Páez, Rafael Urdaneta and José María Vargas and other important Venezuelan people. Under the pavement, in the two side caissons the remains of famous and illustrious men of Venezuela are placed, labelled by tablets.
In 1963 the government decreed a new regulation governing the Pantheon, establishing that this building must be open to the public every day of the year. At the same time, the administration of the grave and other procedures are now the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior. In 1980, city-planning works to remodel the surroundings of the Pantheon were initiated in accordance with the study of the architect Sanabria.
