A historic cathedral in Colombia suffered severe damage in the earthquake that rocked the country’s western regions on Monday (10 August), killing more than 200 people and damaging over 1,600 buildings. The 7.4-magnitude quake caused one of the side towers of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in the city of Manizales to collapse. Videos of the tower falling as passersby looked on have circulated widely online.
The earthquake struck at 7:34am local time, at a depth of 103km in its epicentre of San José del Palmar, a municipality in the department of Chocó—one of the country’s poorest regions. Due to their population density, the cities of Manizales, Pereira and Cali, capitals of neighbouring departments, were hardest hit. The Colombian Geological Survey reported more than 45 aftershocks on the same day.
In addition to the death toll, more than 1,400 people were injured and thousands remain missing or displaced. The aftermath of the quake triggered Colombian president Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office on 7 August, to declare a national emergency.
In the mountain city of Manizales, the collapse of part of its beloved cathedral shocked the country. “It’s the city’s most visited attraction,” Gonzalo Duque-Escobar, a professor at the National University of Colombia and a Manizales native, tells The Art Newspaper.
Built in the Neo-Gothic style with Byzantine-style arches following the design of the French architect Julien Polti, the church replaced a previous wooden cathedral that had succumbed to two fires in 1925 and 1926. Construction of the new temple began in 1928, using different materials to prevent it from being destroyed by a blaze.
“It was built with reinforced concrete when that technology didn’t exist in Colombia,” Duque-Escobar says. “Steel had to be imported, because the country didn’t have large steel mills.”
When the Great Depression hit Colombia in 1930, construction of the temple halted and only resumed in 1935. It was completed in 1939. The parish priest Adolfo Hoyos Ocampo was the driving force behind the project. He defended Polti’s original design and prevented it from being changed for economic or artistic reasons. Through donations and his own enthusiasm, Hoyos succeeded in building the now-famous cathedral, which soon became the symbol of the city.
The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Manizales before the earthquake Photo: Guillermo Vasquez, via Flickr
With a height of 119m, the cathedral is the country’s tallest church. Visitors can climb its 395 stairs to reach a corridor at the top of the central tower with a 360-degree view of the city.
Manizales suffered earthquakes in 1962 and 1979, after which the cathedral was restored several times. In 1984, the cathedral was declared a national monument. It has 141 stained-glass windows imported from France, Italy and the Netherlands. “It’s the symbol of the city in terms of architectural heritage,” Duque-Escobar says.
Other historic churches also suffered damage from the 10 August earthquake. In Pereira, 53km south of Manizales, the dome of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (also known as the Church of Saint Joseph) fell onto the atrium. Footage of this collapse has circulated on social media as well.
In Cali, Colombia’s third most populous city, the archbishop Luis Fernando Rodríguez Velásquez reported damage to the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle and the churches of La Merced, San Francisco and Santa Rosa de Lima.
The local governments of Manizales, Pereira and Cali declared a curfew from Monday night until Tuesday morning to prevent looting overnight. In Cali, the military was deployed to areas most affected by the earthquake. School was suspended this week in Manizales and indefinitely in Pereira.
The Colombian Geological Survey says this is the most powerful earthquake recorded in the country this century. In addition to historic monuments, the natural disaster damaged government buildings and thousands of homes. The airports of Manizales, Pereira and of the cities of Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura have suspended commercial air traffic.
The earthquake was also felt in neighbouring Venezuela and Ecuador. It took place less than two months after two quakes shook the north of Venezuela, causing more than 6,300 deaths.
