ID:Ig_076
Type: Cathedral
Region: Western
Foundation: 1583 (approximate date)
Coro was founded in 1527 by Juan de Ampíes and his son. who was declared it the headquarters of the Governor of the region. Soon after, Coro was pronounced the capital of the first Bishopric of Venezuela by Royal Decree of 1531-06-21 and until 1637-06-20 when the Bishopric moves to Caracas.
The first Bishop of Coro, Don Rodrigo Bastidas (who was also bishop of Santo Domingo), started the construction of the church, which was built with a thatched roof and basic infrastructure. The second bishop was Don Jerónimo de Ballesteros (who was Dean of Cartagena) between 1546 and 1556. By the time of the fourth bishop, Don Manuel Martínez de Manzanillo, who arrived to Coro in 1582, the church still did not have a proper infrastructure. Martínez describe the town and its residents as very poor, and comments on the few ornaments of the church, and a rent of 200 ducads. He takes the responsability of building the walls and a shingle roof. On 1583.06.07 the ecclesiastical council had plans to hire a masonry officer to begin the works, which were taking place by 1583.09.03. The masonry officer received fifty pesos of silver and ten reales per year, plus twelve reales of meat every week. In 1588, there were construction works done by the carpenter Fructuoso Rodríguez. The works were in progress by 1595, when English pirates burned the city and damaged the church. Afterwards, it was decided to expand the structure and build a tower, but this did not take place until the seventeenth century. The temple was blessed by Don Juan de Bohórquez in 1617. The plans and the construction works were done by the Maestro de nivel y compás Gabriel de Nevada. The church was renovated in 1775 by the Vicar José Valentín García. Later on, it was also renovated in 1911 by the Pbro. Ulises A. Navarrete and in 1928 when they rebuild the facade.
Source: Graziano Gasparini, Templos coloniales de Venezuela, pp. 151-152.