Palacio de La Inquisición
Across Plaza Bolívar from the Gold Museum, the Palacio de la Inquisición tells yet another side of the conquistadors’ blood lust. From the early 17th century through independence, Cartagena was a stronghold of the Inquisition. This archetypal late-colonial palace is now home to a history museum that highlights the gruesome methods used by the Spanish church to convince alleged heretics to see the light; for the Spanish, witchcraft and blasphemy topped the list of the most odious crimes, and the condemned would face a public auto-de-fé (execution). Behind the palace’s magnificent baroque facade, emblazoned with the Spanish coat of arms, the first floor displays a series of artifacts related (often tenuously) to the methods employed by the Tribunal del Santo Oficio (Holy Office) in their mission to save around 900 souls from evil. There are historical dioramas, artifacts related to witchcraft, and the Virgin of Candelaria (Cartagena’s patron saint and force against evil), evocative paintings by contemporary Colombians and, attracting most interest, a collection of torture devices including the rack and the Spanish tickler. On the side of the building, look out for a small window with a cross above it; this was the place where alleged heretics would be denounced by their neighbors.
Across Plaza Bolívar from the Gold Museum, the Palacio de la Inquisición tells yet another side of the conquistadors’ blood lust. From the early 17th century through independence, Cartagena was a stronghold of the Inquisition. This archetypal late-colonial palace is now home to a history museum that highlights the gruesome methods used by the Spanish church to convince alleged heretics to see the light; for the Spanish, witchcraft and blasphemy topped the list of the most odious crimes, and the condemned would face a public auto-de-fé (execution). Behind the palace’s magnificent baroque facade, emblazoned with the Spanish coat of arms, the first floor displays a series of artifacts related (often tenuously) to the methods employed by the Tribunal del Santo Oficio (Holy Office) in their mission to save around 900 souls from evil. There are historical dioramas, artifacts related to witchcraft, and the Virgin of Candelaria (Cartagena’s patron saint and force against evil), evocative paintings by contemporary Colombians and, attracting most interest, a collection of torture devices including the rack and the Spanish tickler. On the side of the building, look out for a small window with a cross above it; this was the place where alleged heretics would be denounced by their neighbors.
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