Panteón Nacional de Venezuela

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About Panteón Nacional de Venezuela

The Panteón Nacional is at the northern end of Caracas's historic center, in the Altagracia neighborhood, where the church of the Santísima Trinidad once stood; it was built from 1744 and damaged by the 1812 earthquake. In 1874 the church was converted into a pantheon, and the following year it received the first remains of independence heroes. The remains of Simón Bolívar, brought from Santa Marta, Colombia, to the Cathedral in 1842, were moved here in 1876.

Bolívar's bronze sarcophagus occupies the altar space at the end of the central nave. The side naves hold the tombs and cenotaphs of military figures, writers, musicians and scientists, among them Andrés Bello, Rómulo Gallegos and the pianist Teresa Carreño. Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi, heroine of Margarita Island, was the first woman buried there. Francisco de Miranda has an empty tomb because his remains were never found.

The vaulted ceiling was painted in the 1930s with scenes from Bolívar's life under the direction of Tito Salas, and a large crystal chandelier installed in 1883, on the centenary of the Libertador's birth, hangs from the center. Next to the church a modern annex with tall white lines was built, visible from afar in the square in front.

The visit is silent and follows the order of the naves. From the Panteón's plaza, with the neo‑Gothic façade in the background, you can see the Ávila just behind.