Santa María de la Cabeza castle is a colonial castle built in the seventeenth century by the

Spanish monarchy The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish monarchy is constitu ...

in the center of the city of

Cumaná Cumaná () is the capital city of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located east of Caracas. Cumaná was one of the first cities founded by Spain in the mainland Americas and is the oldest continuously-inhabited Hispanic-established city in Sout ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. It was built as a replacement for the San Antonio de la Eminencia castle. Its construction was ordered by Sancho Fernando de Angulo y Sandoval, governor of the

Province of Cumaná New Andalusia Province or Province of Cumaná (1537–1864) was a province of the Spanish Empire, and later of Gran Colombia and Venezuela. It included the territory of present-day Venezuelan states Sucre, Anzoátegui and Monagas. Its most imp ...

. The building was designed using the trace italienne style popular during the seventeenth century, with a proportional geometric floor design.

Bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s were used as the main defensive elements. The castle housed a

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

of 250 soldiers, and was the seat of government for the Province of Cumaná. Construction began in 1668 when Angulo y Sandoval's predecessor, Juan de Urtarte, wrote a memorandum to the

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

stating that the San Antonio de la Eminencia castle was unfit for defense. Several years later (and without proper authorization), Angulo y Sandoval began construction of a fortress that would be more useful for the defense of the city than the two existing fortifications. The castle underwent several renovations to repair damage caused by severe earthquakes. A 1684 quake severely damaged the castle and another in 1929 left the structure in ruins. The castle was declared a cultural and municipal asset in May 2005.

Description

The Santa María de la Cabeza castle is a fortress built in the city of

on the orders of Sancho Fernando de Angulo y Sandoval, governor of the

, as a replacement for the San Antonio de la Eminencia castle. It is located in the center of the city next to St. Agnes Church, about from the San Antonio castle, on a small hill. The castle is square with

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s (designed by Angulo y Sandoval) at its corners. It has been described as having minor defensive capability. The castle was built using the trace italienne style popular during the seventeenth century; its floor has a geometric design, and bastions are the main defensive elements. However, unlike other permanent bastioned fortifications, its

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

s were designed as two sections: the lower part of the wall is vertical (perpendicular to the base) and the upper part, above the

string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

, is inclined inwards. This design makes the fort unique in Venezuela; in most castles, the lower portion of the walls inclines outwards at the base and the upper parts are vertical (perpendicular to the base). The primary material used to create the bricks for the castle was margosa

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

(a type of sedimentary rock composed of limestone and clay). The front of the castle is oriented to the east, and there was a

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate trench created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...

around the entire perimeter, including between the castle and the

Plaza de Armas ''Plaza de armas'' (pl. ; literally ''arms square'' or ''place-of-arms'') is a Spanish language, Spanish term commonly used to refer to town square, town squares in Latin America, Spain and the Philippines, as well as a name commonly given to th ...

(Weapons Square). As of 2008 the building had lost its

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

s and shelters, but the main defensive structures and walls have been preserved. The fort housed a

of 250 soldiers, and was the residence of the governor of the Province of Cumaná.

Origins

On 22 November 1668, Don Juan de Urtarte (governor of the province from 9 June 1668 to 26 July 1669) wrote a memorandum to the

stating that Fort Santiago was unfit for defense because of its round shape and its mud and stone construction. Several years later, Governor Don Sancho Fernando de Angulo y Sandoval began—without authorization from the war council—construction of a new fortress with the rationale that the San Antonio de la Eminencia castle did not meet the city's defensive requirements, as it is located on a hilltop far from the city and the coast. The governor claimed that the castle also lacked a suitable water supply and accommodation for soldiers, and thus was unable to resist prolonged sieges. Unlike his predecessor Urtarte, who requested financing to supply and improve San Antonio, Angulo y Sandoval decided to build a new castle, one better able to defend the city than the two existing fortifications. The resulting fortress was called Santa María de la Cabeza; the governor then requested that the two older structures be demolished.

History

On 4 May 1684 an earthquake devastated the city, severely damaging the Santa María castle. A road linking the Santa María de la Cabeza and San Antonio de la Eminencia castles was mentioned by Agustín Crame in a 1777 proposal for the defense of the city. Crame opposed the idea, but stated that if a road were built it should be a

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

one. The Santa María de la Cabeza castle was partially destroyed in a powerful earthquake felt throughout the state in 1797. After an earthquake in 1853, the

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...

enclosing an image of Nuestra Señora del Carmen (

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is a Roman Catholic Titles of Mary, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patron saint, patroness of the Carmelites, Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on M ...

), originally situated at the Mount Carmel chapel, was moved to the Santa María de la Cabeza castle, where Santos Berrizbeitia built a new chapel in 1912 to protect the image; it was later moved to St. Agnes Church. The ditch was filled in for construction of the Mount Carmel chapel and the deteriorated parapets were demolished. The original slopes and

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

s present on Diaz Fajardo's 1737 map were probably also buried in the process. The chapel in the castle was the final resting place for Berrizbeitia; his remains, originally interred at Holy Trinity Cemetery (which he had built), were exhumed and moved five years after his death. Between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Cumaná experienced an increase in population. The areas around the castles and the

Manzanares River The Manzanares () is a river in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, which flows from the Sierra de Guadarrama, passes through Madrid, and eventually empties into the Jarama river, which in turn is a right-bank tributary to the Tagus. In its ...

became densely populated. New buildings were constructed that were attached to the castle walls, completely closing off the perimeter and making direct access impossible. Another earthquake in 1929 left the structure in ruins and rendered it unusable. The offices of the seat of government for the Province of Cumaná were moved elsewhere and the building was abandoned. The castle was declared a Cultural and Municipal Asset in May 2005 by the state Cultural Assets Institute.

Gallery

File:Castillo de Santa María de la Cabeza 1998 001.jpg File:Castillo de Santa María de la Cabeza 1998 002.jpg File:Castillo de Santa María de la Cabeza 1998 004.jpg File:Castillo de Santa María de la Cabeza 1998 005.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria de la Cabeza castle Castles in Venezuela Spanish colonial fortifications in Venezuela

Description

Origins

History

Gallery

Further reading

References