Casa de Nariño

Brief information

The Presidential Palace of Colombia stands on the site of the house where Antonio Nariño was born. So the name here is not just a memorial plaque: the modern presidential residence literally took over the plot of a private house connected with a hero of independence. In the early 20th century, the old house was demolished and rebuilt: the building was expanded to two floors, spacious halls were created, and the facade was decorated with carved stonework by Luigi Ramelli.

Later, the palace changed again. It gained a third floor and a roof terrace with a helipad, and in the 1970s, during an expansion, the old facade was preserved, but the gardens, the weapons square, the portico, and the west wing were redesigned. The sharpest contrast is hidden in the garden: there stands the National Observatory from 1802-1803, older than the palace's present appearance.

What to notice right away

It makes sense to look at Casa de Nariño as a residence assembled from ceremonial and commemorative parts. The northern weapons square shows the official face of power: foreign guests are received here, a fountain and flagpole stand nearby, and in front of the square is a statue of Antonio Nariño. In this way, the site named for his birthplace gains a visible center of memory.

On the square itself, you can compare two different sculptural ideas: replicas of the pre-Columbian stone figure "God of Death" and Edgar Negret's work "The Vigilantes," made of ten red curved aluminum plates. The observatory in the garden next to the palace is also important: it reminds you that the grounds preserve more than just a presidential function. Inside, this succession of power is emphasized by the portrait gallery: it contains portraits of recent presidents and Simón Bolívar, and the earliest of the recent portraits is removed after a new president takes office.