Parque Berrío

Parque Berrío serves as the geographical heart of downtown Medellín, easily identified by the bronze statue of the nineteenth-century politician Pedro Justo Berrío that stands in its center. Known originally as the Main Square when it was established in sixteen forty-nine, the space served as the anteroom for the Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria, where residents gathered before and after services. From seventeen eighty-four until eighteen ninety-two, the site hosted the city's public market and witnessed public executions and major political announcements.