Santa Fe de Antioquia

Founded in 1541, Santa Fe was the capital of the province until Medellin took the role in the 1820s, and losing it is the reason the town still has its colonial grid intact. It sits at around 550 m in the Cauca valley, so it is far hotter than Medellin an hour above it. The streets are lime-washed, narrow and lined with tall studded doors; the Catedral Basilica takes one side of the main square and the older Iglesia de Santa Barbara has the better stone front. The Museo Juan del Corral covers town history in a colonial house. Tamarind sweets are sold around the square.

History

Jorge Robledo founded the town in 1541 as Villa de Santafé on the west bank of the Cauca River; in 1545 it received its arms and the title of City of Antioquia, the bishop of Popayán made it a parish in 1547, and it took its present name in 1584, when it became the capital of Antioquia. Gold mining was the base of its economy from the start; its cathedral was built in 1799 and became the seat of the Diocese of Antioquia in 1804, and it was the capital of Antioquia from 1813 until 1826, when Medellín became the seat. For the state of its colonial architecture it was declared a national monument in 1960 (Wikipedia, Santa Fe de Antioquia).

The main sights

• Plaza Mayor and the cathedral - the wide square with the basilica along one side.
• Iglesia de Santa Barbara - the older church with the worked stone facade.
• The carved doors - street after street of studded colonial doorways.
• Museo Juan del Corral - town history in a courtyard house off the square.

When to go

December to March is the drier season, but heat is the real constraint and it applies all year: walk early in the morning and after four in the afternoon, and do something indoors in between. Weekends and Colombian holidays bring families down from Medellin, which fills the rooms and lengthens the drive considerably in both directions.

Practical notes

The heat is punishing and there is almost no shade in the streets, which catches out visitors arriving from cool Medellin. The town is small and a full day is generous. Most colonial houses are private and shut. The strip of pool hotels on the edge of town is aimed at weekenders from the city rather than at travellers, and weekend traffic can double the journey time.

Nearby

The Puente de Occidente is fifteen minutes east across the Cauca.

Key facts