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MARINILLA | Marinilla is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. While it’s by no means a must see place for visitors, it’s only a 40 minute drive from the centre of Medellin, and is well worth stopping by for an hour if you’re in the area, say on the route from Medellin to Guatape.
The reason that Marinilla is worth visiting is because it gives you a taste of Colombia that you won’t get if you only visit the major cities. It’s a small, quiet, traditional place, that’s very typical the sort of towns you find in rural Colombia. There’s a church, a plaza, a small produce market, and lots of family run businesses which have been doing more or less the same thing for generations. There’s a vibe about the place that’s hard to pin down, some thing real and authentic that you can feel in the air as you walk through the streets.
The town was founded in 1680 and is known by some as the “Colombian Sparta”. This is due to the fact that the town’s people have been involved in almost all of the wars of note in the country. Most notable is that Marinilla was one of the first towns to offer soldiers to fight alongside Simón Bolívar when Colombians were fighting for their independence.
The town is quite religious, and is home to Museo del Cristo, which has the world’s largest collection of crucifixes, around 2,700, on display. It’s also known for its music festivals, string instrument factories (in particular guitars), traditional Paisa cuisine, and baked goods such as pandeyucas and pandebonos.
Marinilla is a little quirky, typical yet unique, and well worth your time if you have an hour to spare during your time in the region.