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Introducing Potosí
Travel Alert: Travelers planning a mine tour in Potosí should be aware of the risks. See the Health & Safety section for details.
The conquistadors never found El Dorado, the legendary city of gold, but they did get their hands on Potosí and its Cerro Rico, a ‘Rich Hill’ full of silver. The quote, ‘I am rich Potosí, The treasure of the world…, And the envy of kings', from the city’s first coat of arms, sums it up. The city was founded in 1545 as soon as the ore was discovered, and pretty soon the silver extracted here was bankrolling the Spanish empire.
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