Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino

What it is

This hacienda, built in the early 17th century near Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, produced rum, honey and panela in Bolívar's time. It is remembered as the place where Simón Bolívar died in December 1830. The estate is now a museum and historical landmark.

Why it matters

As the site of Bolívar's death, this house became a place of pilgrimage and national memory for the man who led much of South America to independence. The preserved bedroom helps visitors imagine the final days of someone whose life ended far from the centres of power he had helped create.

Look closer

• Why might a museum choose to preserve the exact room and bed where someone died?
• What does the choice to turn this working estate into a museum tell you about how nations remember their heroes?
• What might visiting this quiet room make you think about fame and power at the end of a life?