Panteon Nacional
- Filed under: Venezuela
- Date: May 21,2008
The Panthéon (Latin Pantheon, 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.
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, where his heart was buried, 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.