Iglesia de San Francisco

Lonely Planet review

Just south of the Capitolio Nacional, the Church of San Francisco was built in the 1570s, but was remodeled on several occasions during the 17th and 18th centuries. Guzmán Blanco, unable to resist his passion for modernizing, placed a neoclassical facade on the church to match the just-completed capitol building. Fortunately, the interior of the church didn't undergo such an extensive alteration, so its colonial character and much of its old decoration have been preserved.

Have a look at the richly gilded baroque altarpieces distributed along both sidewalls, and stop at the statue of San Onofre, in the right-hand aisle. He is the most venerated saint in the church due to his miraculous powers of bringing health, happiness and a good job.

It was in this church in 1813 that Bolívar was proclaimed 'El Libertador,' and also here that his much celebrated funeral was held in 1842, after his remains had been brought from Santa Marta in Colombia, 12 years after his death.