Hotel Casa de la Botica occupies a historical landmark building originally constructed in the 17th century. The street on which the Hotel is located (Calle 9 between 6th and 7th) was formerly called “Calle de la Botica.” According to historian Daniel Ortega Ricuarte, the name was derived from the many pharmacies or “boticas” that occupied the street in the late 17th century.
The historical importance of the building comes from its ownership in the late 18th century by Don Diego Espinosa de los Monteros, who conducted a publishing business there. The building was then known as “La Casa del Tipografo,” and is believed to have been the site of the 1793 printing of Antonio Nariño’s translation of the French “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,” a document that had been banned by the Inquisition of Cartagena.
When Don Diego Espinosa was imprisoned in 1794, his son Bruno continued the family business. The Declaration is now listed on the United Nations’ Memory of the World Register. Many of the pamphlets and books printed in La Casa del Tipografo can be found today in the archives of the Nacional de Colombia library and the Luis Angel Arango Library.
History
Hotel Casa de la Botica occupies a historical landmark building originally constructed in the 17th century. The street on which the Hotel is located (Calle 9 between 6th and 7th) was formerly called “Calle de la Botica.” According to historian Daniel Ortega Ricuarte, the name was derived from the many pharmacies or “boticas” that occupied the street in the late 17th century.
The historical importance of the building comes from its ownership in the late 18th century by Don Diego Espinosa de los Monteros, who conducted a publishing business there. The building was then known as “La Casa del Tipografo,” and is believed to have been the site of the 1793 printing of Antonio Nariño’s translation of the French “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,” a document that had been banned by the Inquisition of Cartagena.
When Don Diego Espinosa was imprisoned in 1794, his son Bruno continued the family business. The Declaration is now listed on the United Nations’ Memory of the World Register. Many of the pamphlets and books printed in La Casa del Tipografo can be found today in the archives of the Nacional de Colombia library and the Luis Angel Arango Library.
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