Loaded with three centuries of history and conserving its solemn proportions, it resplendent, in the colonial helmet of Santa Ana de Coro, in Falcon-Venezuela, The House of the Treasure, a legendary monument that, like the rest of the old constructions of that city, is an example of the rich fusion of local traditions with the architectural techniques of Spain and Holland.

Many people in the area also call it "Casa del Obispo Talavera", this house was built on the ruins of a house of little recognition at the beginning of the seventh decade of the eighteenth century by Don Andrés de Talavera who was a person known for his fortune and for being the father of Bishop Mariano de Talavera y Garcés. The reason why it is better known as "The Treasure House" is that the villagers say that the father of Monsignor Talavera, when he died, left a great fortune and it disappeared, for the date it was common for the owners of fortunes to bury same in homes.
However, even though several generations have searched for it, even in tunnels found inside, no "treasure" has been recovered.
This enclosure not only belonged to the Talavera and Garcés family. After the death of its owner it was destined in actions to his heirs. In this way, the house was sold to the Madriz family, and finally inherited by the Telleria Madriz until it was expropriated by the Chávez government and subjected to a new restoration.

A colonial stamp and its fantastic tunnel

As you can see, the colonial image of the house varies from its masonry foundations where the calcareous stone of Caujarao was used, to ringed columns or fascia’s. This house is composed of four main rooms, the vestibule and the corridor, as well as the patio and backyard. The house, like the rest of the corian houses, has a constructive system of walls with adobe reinforced with rafters.
In 1960, the great mystery of the tunnel is that the tunnel itself is not originally from the house, but rather that it is a conduit that crosses the subsoil of the house.
After countless excursions through the tunnel they realized that it was obstructed by a large amount of land, so the regional government after expropriating the house and doing the respective excavation and restoration work could discover that the tunnel was communicating with the Cathedral of Coro, the Convent of San Francisco, the Chapel of San Clemente and other important buildings of the time.
Since 2012 this house has been opened to the public as a museum that you can visit if you are in the town.

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://merryslamb.timeets.com/2019/02/15/the-house-of-the-treasure-between-legends-and-religiosity/

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