| Bolivia 2007
Photographs by Lois and Don Porter 3/26/2007 |
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Potosi is a legendary place. Towering above the city, which is already 13,400 feet above sea level, is the “Cerro Rico”, “Rich mountain”, full of minerals. Founded in 1545, Potosi shipped a mountain of silver to Spain during the colonial period, from 1545 to 1825. Within a few years of its founding, it grew to a population of 200,000 (today it is 120,000). In 1672, a giant mint was founded in Potosi, the Casa de la Moneda, which operated well into the 20th century. It is now a very impressive museum, exhibiting art works, minting equipment, mineralogy and metalurgy, armaments, archeology, silverware, furniture, costumes, and the amazing stone buildings themselves.
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