A Guide to Rionegro’s Museums

TLDR? You can visit all three of Rionegro’s museums on the same day while enjoying Rionegro’s central park!

Rionegro’s a city about one hour away from Medellin, and you’ve probably already been there because the biggest airport in Medellin lies in Rionegro. 

This place has so much more to offer than just the airport, however! It’ll be well worth the visit, and considering it’s so close to Medellín, you can head out there for a day without any issues.

One of the many activities there is to take a cultural journey through the Museums of Rionegro. Here’s everything you need to know about the museums in Rionegro.

Museo Histórico Casa de la Convención

This mansion in traditional Spanish architecture is a historical museum from the colonial era. The place is beautiful! The best part is the typical Spanish garden with a fountain surrounded by plants, clay tiles, white walls, and wood doors and columns.

The museum’s named the House of Convention because the National Convention of the United States of Colombia was held there in 1863. Sixty-four high-rank officials attended the event, including President Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera.

The Convention represented the Nation’s consolidation and the birth of Colombian radical liberalism. Six rooms show the different characters and histories of Rionegro and Colombia.

• Room I: Exhibits images of the 64 members of the Rionegro Convention, with the signed paper and all the documents. You’ll also see perfect replicas of the tables and chairs.
• Room II: This room’s an homage to Rionegro and the first shield of the city, with documents from over 400 years perfectly preserved in a chest. This chest will be opened on the 500th anniversary of its foundation.
• Room III: This room’s dedicated to the hero of the Independence of Colombia: José María Córdova. You’ll see the soldier’s painting along with other characters related to the hero. There’s also an exhibit of weapons, tools, and personal objects.
• Room IV: Rionegro was known as one of the most modern cities in Antioquia in the 19th century, and it was one of the first to have a printing press. You can see a real one and how it worked. 
• Room V: In this room, you’ll get to know famous people from Rionegro. It contains art exhibitions from Ricardo Rendón and Baldomero Sanín, among others.
• Room VI: You’ll find the second most significant Antioquian documents in this room: papers from the Council, Government, and Justice from 1800 to 1900.

This museum is close to the Parque Principal of Rionegro and opens every day from 10 am to 7 pm.

Website: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_de_la_Convenci%C3%B3n

Address: Cl. 51, Rionegro, Antioquia

MAR Museo de Arte de Rionegro

This brand new Museum was opened in 2018 and created as an extension of Rionegro’s central park to integrate culture into a public and active space. The Rionegro Museum of Arts is a space to share the art, culture, and history of Rionegro, Antioquia, and Colombia in general. 

It’s a museum with permanent heritage exhibitions of Colombia, as well as modern visual arts. But, it’s not just a museum; it’s also a cultural center with the purpose of creating social and cultural growth of the people of Rionegro. 

Its architecture intends to let visitors move from one exhibition to another without entering the rooms. It has three exhibition platforms as glass showcases: permanent and experimental rooms with science, art, and history, as well as a solar wing.

There are also educational activities inside and outside the museum. In this way, they want to create consciousness of the necessity of taking care of the public spaces.

Website: https://rionegro.gov.co/es/museo-artes-de-rionegro/

Address: Rionegro, Antioquia

Museo de Arte Religioso

The Museum of Religious Art is in the Old Sacristy of the San Nicolás El Magno, also close to Rionegro’s central park. This museum’s one of the richest and most important of its kind in Colombia.

The exhibitions include old and religious:

• Books
• Paintings
• Sculptures
• Furniture
• Religious jewelry 
• Ornaments 
• Portraits 

One of the most distinguished pieces of this museum is the crown that Simon Bolivar received in La Paz, passed on to José María Córdova, and then donated to Rionegro.

The works inside the museum are faithful examples of the great culture and economy that Rionegro lived in the past. The collection’s made of works from the 16th to the 20th century, with pieces from local churches and private donations.

This old Sacristy also hosted a major historical event on March 21st, 1812. There, was signed and proclaimed the Constitution of the Sovereign Free and Independent State of Antioquia, in which 19 towns participated.

Here are some heritage and art shows in the museum: 

• Image of “Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción del Santísimo Rosario de Arma de Rionegro” donated by the Spanish monarch Philip II.
• “El Que Ha De Venir”, a work painted with the fingertips.
• The cloaks of the Virgen del Rosario, made in Spain with gold and silver threads and more than two thousand pearls.
• The paintings of Santiago, Felipe II (king of Spain), the Virgen del Rosario, and Rionegro’s coat of arms.
• The Picture of San Nicolas el Magno, which gave the cathedral its name.

The cathedral has limited opening times so make sure to check on that before planning a visit.

Website: https://ilamdir.org/recurso.vm?id=1858

Address: a 49-75, Cl. 50 #4925, Rionegro, Antioquia

Rionegro Has So Much History!

Even if you’re not passionate about museums, the chance of exploring the history of Rionegro and Colombia will brighten up and enrich your time in Medellín. All three museums are close to the central park so you can visit them on the same day during your walk downtown of Rionegro!

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