Rosa Roja de Paita, Steel sculpture near National Pantheon, Caracas, Venezuela.
Rosa Roja de Paita is a steel sculpture shaped like a red rose, located next to the National Pantheon in Caracas, Venezuela. It is made of weathering steel, a material that develops a rust-colored protective layer over time through natural oxidation.
The sculpture was completed in 2012 and unveiled in 2013 as part of a complex dedicated to Manuela Sáenz, the companion of Simón Bolívar. Its unveiling came during a period when Venezuela was placing renewed attention on figures from its independence era.
The name comes from a Pablo Neruda poem in which he calls Manuela Sáenz the red rose of Paita, the Peruvian city where she spent her final years. Standing in front of the sculpture, visitors find themselves at a point where Latin American poetry and Venezuelan history meet in a concrete, visible way.
The sculpture stands in western Caracas near the National Pantheon and can be reached on foot from that landmark. A morning visit tends to work best, as the light is better and the area around the Pantheon is generally calmer at that time.
The work was designed by architect Domenico Silvestro, a recipient of Venezuela's National Architecture Prize, a professional whose practice normally centers on buildings rather than sculpture. This crossover between architecture and public art makes the piece a rare example of collaboration across disciplines.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
