Churches & Plazas of Ipiales

Location:
Ipiales, Colombia

City Plaza

By Lorraine Caputo

Ipiales has two pleasant public squares: Parque de la Independencia (also known as Parque 20 de Julio), between Carreras 5 and 6, and Calles 8 and 9, and Parque La Pola, between Carreras 5 and 6, and Calles 13 and 14.

Around Parque de la Independencia are the municipal buildings (the alcaldía) and the city's cathedral. In the center of the park is a tall column atop which is Lady Liberty standing on the back of a soaring condor. The Catedral Bodas de Plata, dedicated to Saint Peter, was constructed in 1823. The church's red-brick exterior of classical lines rises into twin bell towers. Within, the clean style continues. Massive Ionic columns divide the nave from the side aisles, which are lined with chapel screens touched with gold gilt. The left aisle ends in a chapel. Large clerestory windows flood the nave with sunlight. The flat ceilings are of inlaid wood. (Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-1 p.m., 2-7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.)

Parque La Pola is more the center of Ipiales. Here is where you will find banks and casas de cambio. Combis from the border can drop you off at this park. The center of Parque La Pola is marked with the statue of another woman: independence heroine Policarpa Salavarrieta. She is breaking free from the chains that bind her to a pillar. The blue and white Iglesia de San Felipe Neri, of the same period as the Catedral, has an unusual touch: its two campaniles are topped with onion domes, reminiscent of Russian Orthodox architecture. Inside, the temple's nave is flanked by narrow aisles lined with chapel screens dedicated to various versions of the Virgin. The nave terminates in a square apse. Thick Corinthian columns support the painted, textured-tin ceiling. Small clerestory windows truncate the thick walls, making this church not as bright as its sister, the Cathedral.

Price Description: Free.

Travel Skills: None

On Friday is the weekly indigenous market in Ipiales, and on Saturday is the regular weekly market, both on Carrera 10 and adjacent streets.