La Asunción

La Asunción is located 30 kilometers from Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport which offers scheduled flights to mainland Venezuela as well as charter flights to international destinations.

Ferry services are available from a terminal 40 kilometers to the southwest in Punta de Piedras. Conferry offers service to Puerto La Cruz, Guanta, and La Guaira, on mainland Venezuela as well as service to Coche Island.

Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de La Asunción.

Colonial House of Police in La Asunción.

La Asunción Cathedral.

Built between 1570 and 1612, the Catedral Nuestra Señora de La Asunción is the oldest existing church in Venezuela.[11] Its construction was started in 1570 (much before the construction of the cathedral of Coro) and was never completed. A new church was built from 1609 which took 10 years to complete.[1][2][11] The church has a rectangular plan with massive walls as protection against pirate attacks. Supported on two lines of huge pillars which support the roof. There is a bell tower outside and which is also unique and the bells are now preserved in the plaza. One of the most important religious buildings on the Island, the Virgin of La Asunción is worshipped here. The cathedral has been declared a historical city monument. It has a plain façade and interior, but its left lateral tower, which dates to 1599, is the oldest in the country.[2][10] The important festival observed here is in mid August to celebrate Our Lady of Assumption when a procession is held and mass offered in the church.[2]

Crafts in La Asunción.

Left: Santa Rosa Castle; right: Statue of Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi.

The castle of Santa Rosa de la Eminencia was built in 1682 due to its prominent location on a hill; it acted as an observatory to watch for any invading forces approaching from the north, south, or east. A tunnel (a kilometer long dug during the original construction) from the fort connected to the governor's house, the church and the Convent of San Francisco. The fort guarded the eastern approach to the capital and was one of three forts that secured the island's strategic location to fend off the English, French, Dutch and other colonizers.[2][7][10] It was where Luisa Caceres de Arismendi, wife of the leading freedom fighter Juan Bautista Arismendi against Spanish imperialism, after capture by the Spanish on 27 September was imprisoned here one day before she became 17 years of age in 1816. She became a local heroine; in the prison cell of the fort, her first son was born and died prematurely due to lack of medical attention. She was imprisoned as her husband had escaped to the forests of Cerro El Copey and by capturing her they hoped that they could make the freedom fighter to surrender but the plan failed. After the death of the baby she was moved to Spain from where she escaped. She eventually joined her husband with whom she begot 11 children and the died at the age of 65. After her death she had the honour of being buried in the El Pantheon Nacional in Caracas one of the two women buried here. The cell where she was incarcerated in the castle has been preserved in its original form in which she lived. An inscription at the entrance to the cell reads "Luisa Caceres de Arismendi" for her virtue valour and martyrdom for her husband and country as prisoner in this jail when she was 16 years of age." The fort with strong sense of military purpose has exhibits of weapons of warfare, paintings of Simon Bolivar, knights in armor, and also iron balls which were tied to the legs of prisoners. Behind the kitchen there is abottle dungeon whose entrance is through a hole in the roof.[1][2][10] The fort provides an excellent view of the sea and Cerro Matasiete. It had a moat and a draw bridge which no longer exist.[2] The map on display in the museum is reported to be the best in the world.

The Casa Capitular, the seat of the colonial government, and a city hall has been re-purposed as the Museo Nueva Cádiz (Museum New Cádiz) which features displays of pre-colonial artifacts and local handicrafts. Initially, as the seat of the government it had housed the offices in the first floor and a prison on the ground floor.[2][10] On May 4, 1810, the museum was the venue for Margarita's Declaration of Independence following the declaration made in Caracas on April 19, 1810. As the prison space was inadequate to accommodate the large number of prisoners, it was converted into a museum with a gallery and a biliary.

An interesting display in the museum is a sculpture of the tyrant ruler Lope de Aguirre who had terrorized the islanders during 1561; this event is featured in the film titled Aguirre, the Wrath of God produced by Werner Herzog with Klaus Kinski in the lead role.[2]

Casa de Juan Bautista Arismendi honors Venezuela's war hero, Juan Bautista Arismendi.

The Casa de la Cultura is located opposite to the church and has a theater. A pre-Columbian pottery collection is on display here and replicas of the same could be bought in the nearby town of Santa Ana.[2]

Isla Margarita and particularly "Cerro El Copey National Park" are especially important with respect to the numbers of endemic species they harbor. The island was connected to mainland until the Pleistocene. As a result, there is a predominance of typical continental bird families like Tinamidae, Dendrocolaptidae, Formicaridae and Furnaridae, which are totally absent from the Antilles. Circa 31 mammal species are found on the island, four of which (the red-tailed squirrel Sciurus granatensis nesaeus, the eastern cottontail rabbit Sylvilagus floridanus margaritae, the white-tailed dear Odocoileus virginianus margaritae, and the capuchin monkey Cebus apella margaritae) are endemic subspecies, with the main populations located inside the national park. The Margarita capuchin monkey is considered to be the country's most threatened primate species and is critically endangered.