Architectural heritage of Venezuela

Greetings to everyone in the community. It's been a while since I last posted in this community, but this time I want to talk about and show you through photographs certain aspects of the typical architecture of the historic center of Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar State, Venezuela. This historic center is well-known nationally, aside from the historic center of Coro, Falcón State, due to its preservation and its importance as a national architectural and historical heritage.

But first, we should know that this historic center located in Ciudad Bolívar has existed since approximately the late 1500s, when a Spanish soldier named Antonio de Berrío, in his insatiable search for the city of El Dorado, established the first settlements in this city. Its first name was San Tomás de Guayana, and after a few centuries, it was renamed Angostura, and finally, as we know it today, Ciudad Bolívar, named after the Venezuelan hero Simón Bolívar.

On the other hand, it should be mentioned that this sector of the historic center is very privileged in many ways, because it is located at the highest points of the city, so its structures and buildings are safe from the rising waters of the Orinoco River, which is very close to this site. It is known that in times past, the river's floods could reach great heights, even if they were currently covering a large part of the city. On the other hand, it has the privilege of having a great view of much of the city and the entire Orinoco River and part of another Venezuelan state named Anzoategui.

Now, among the architectural aspects worth mentioning about this place, it is characterized by its colonial architectural style. In many cases, the family homes are built in the Antillean style. It sounds like it's from one of those Caribbean countries, but the Antillean style is mentioned due to the use of materials such as mud, wood, and iron for the construction of most of these houses, in addition to the characteristic facades with large windows, balconies, and high ceilings inside. However, there are also certain buildings in the area, especially where government orders are in place, that are characterized more by the country's neoclassical architecture. In some places, they even blend colonial and modern elements, in an attempt to preserve the buildings.

Of course, many of the materials used in the past or that were originally used have had to be replaced in order to preserve many of these infrastructures, because those materials are not resistant over time. Although it is known that some of these buildings that function as museums try to preserve some of their constructions more for the sake of their own history, such as trying to conserve the original work.

However, many of these houses have been modified inside, and sometimes their facades have been altered, perhaps because they were family heirlooms and, as time goes by, people seek to adapt their homes to modernity, although they still maintain that colonial-style image. Although, of course, the general maintenance of all these buildings is always a major challenge, perhaps many of the governments that have passed in my country have not given it as much importance, and therefore, maintaining these spaces is not a priority. From time to time, we can see some houses or buildings in complete deterioration or almost completely abandoned. But, in general terms, I have always seen this historic center as better preserved compared to other historic centers in other cities in Venezuela, where I have witnessed greater architectural decay in many of these spaces of great importance to the country's architectural and historical heritage.

All photographs are my own.