Metropolitan Cathedral of Medellín, Medellin (must see)

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Medellín, officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, is a Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception. It was formerly called and is still known, to a lesser extent, as Villanueva Cathedral, especially during its construction to distinguish it from the Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria, which was the seat of the Episcopal see at the time.

Designed by the French architect Émile Charles Carré (1863-1909) in a Romanesque style, the cathedral features a Latin cross floor plan with three longitudinal aisles, crossed by the transept. Its two towers reach a height of 66 meters at the spires. It is a solid brick structure, and during its construction, approximately 1,120,000 bricks, each measuring 8 cubic decimeters, were used, totaling a volume of 97,000 cubic meters. Recognized as one of the major architectural works in the country, it was declared a national monument of Colombia on March 12, 1982.

The cathedral also houses a small museum of religious art located in a room adjacent to the basilica. The collection includes about 40 paintings from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, as well as 15 sculptures dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Notably, the cathedral is home to "The Christ of Forgiveness" by Colombian artist Francisco Antonio Cano Cardona.