Santa Marta is the capital of the department of Magdelena on Colombia's Caribbean Coast. It was the first city founded on the continent by Rodrigo de Bastidas in the year 1525, serving as a base of exploration and conquest of the Caribbean and the interior of the country. The colonial area of the city contains contructions of great historical value: The Cathedral, with its stone masonry construction, the interior alters of Carrara marble, and the bell tower that ends in a peculiar onion-like shape.