Coro and its Port

Coro was founded in 1527 and is one of the oldest surviving towns in the Americas, and its distinction is the material: the colonial buildings are made of earth, mud brick and rammed earth rendered and painted, a technique brought together from Spanish, indigenous and Dutch practice in a way found nowhere else in the Caribbean. With its port at La Vela it was inscribed by UNESCO in 1993, the first Venezuelan site on the list.

History

Juan de Ampíes founded Santa Ana de Coro on 26 July 1527, making a pact with Manaure, chief of the Caquetio people, which was broken in 1529 when Ambrosius Ehinger landed as governor for the Welsers, the Augsburg bankers to whom Charles V had granted the province; as Neu-Augsburg, Coro was the first German colony in the Americas until 1546, and expeditions left it for the llanos, the Andes and the Orinoco in search of El Dorado. In the 17th century a hurricane and pirate raids left it marked as destroyed on English and French charts, but the countryside recovered and the town reached its colonial peak in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the age of its best-preserved houses. In 1795 José Leonardo Chirino led a rising against slavery in the Sierra de Coro, and in 1806 Francisco de Miranda landed at La Vela de Coro with an expedition that first brought the tricolour flag, a forerunner of the wars of independence (Wikipedia, Coro, Venezuela).

The main sights

• The earthen architecture - colonial buildings of mud brick and rammed earth under render.
• The Casa de las Ventanas de Hierro - the eighteenth-century house with its ironwork windows.
• The cathedral - one of the oldest surviving churches in the country.
• La Vela de Coro - the port town on the coast, inscribed with the city.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. Earthen buildings are vulnerable to heavy rain and restoration work is often in progress. Mornings are coolest for walking.

Things to know

Heavy rains in 2004 and 2010 caused serious damage and the site has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger; some buildings remain under scaffolding or closed. Museum opening is irregular. It is very hot and there is little shade.

Nearby

Medanos de Coro are beside the town, and Adicora is north.

Key facts