Venezuela: Caracas – Mausoleum of Simon Bolivar & National Panthen

In 2010, President Hugo Chavez ordered the exhumation of Bolivar’s remains from the National Pantheon with the stated goal to perform scientific testing on the skeleton to confirm his identity and investigate whether he died of tuberculosis or poisoning. Following the exhumation, Chavez announced the construction of a massive standalone mausoleum attached to the old Pantheon to serve as a grand resting place exclusively for “El Libertador” – it took 3 years to build and cost $140 million. While the Pantheon is a traditional pinkish 19th-century church building, the Mausoleum is a minimalist futuristic modern structure. The most recognizable feature is a huge 54m (177 ft) white curved roof clad in ceramic panels. Locals jokingly call it “Chavez’s skate ramp.”