National Capitol

Lonely Planet review

As part of his mad dash toward modernization in the 1870s, Guzmán Blanco commissioned an ambitious, neoclassical seat of congress, the National Capitol , to occupy the entire block just southwest of Plaza Bolívar. The two-building complex was erected on the site of a convent, whose occupants were promptly expelled by the dictator and their convent razed.

In the central part of the northern building is the famous Salón Elíptico, an oval hall topped by an extraordinary domed ceiling with an all-encompassing mural, which almost seems to move as you walk beneath it. The painting, depicting the battle of Carabobo, was done in 1888 by the most notable Venezuelan artist of the day, Martín Tovar y Tovar. The southern wall of the hall is crammed with portraits of the distinguished leaders of the independence wars. In front of this wall is Bolívar's bust on top of a marble pedestal; the 1811 Act of Independence is kept in the chest inside the pedestal. It's put on public view on July 5, Independence Day.

Tovar y Tovar also left more military works of art in two adjoining halls: the Salón Amarillo has on its ceiling a depiction of the battle of Junín, while the Salón Rojo has been embellished with a scene from the battle of Boyacá.