Plaza Santo DomingoOne of the most beautiful and photogenic plazas in the Walled City, and one with a darker history than its charming surface suggests. The plaza is anchored by the Church of Santo Domingo, one of the oldest in the city, with a striking orange-yellow colonial facade and a famously twisted bell tower. The surrounding architecture — colonial buildings with balconies, red tile roofs, and a layout that somehow feels more European than Caribbean — gives the whole square an elegance that stops people mid-step. Great boutiques, restaurants with outdoor seating, and underground spots worth knowing about make this one of the better areas in the city to linger. If you stop by Magno, we'll happily give you the full lay of the land. We know all the best secrets stumbling distance from our doors.
At the center of it all sits Gertrudis, Fernando Botero's famous reclining sculpture. Local legend holds that touching her breasts or backside brings good fortune in romantic affairs. Her most polished parts tell you everything about how seriously people take this.
What the plaza doesn't advertise is its history. This was where the Spanish Inquisition carried out its public executions. Denunciations were submitted through the small window on the side of the Palace of the Inquisition around the corner on Plaza Bolívar, proceedings were conducted there, and sentences were carried out here in public. Many of those condemned were women accused of witchcraft, specifically the practice of preparing traditional cacao drinks: love potions and healing elixirs made from native Colombian cacao that the Church deemed heretical. In over 800 trials, not a single person was ever found innocent.
That history is closer than you think. Just a block and a half north up Calle de la Factoría, one of the oldest streets in Cartagena and a historic center of colonial trade, is Magno Chocolates. Our house cacao drink draws from those same recipes. History has a way of showing up in unexpected places.
