In typical dictator style, once Gómez had taken a firm grip of Venezuela, he set about building himself a grandiose mausoleum. Finished in 1919, this rather pretentious pantheon structure is topped by a white Moorish dome and houses the tomb of the general and members of his family. Curiously, the interior walls are covered with the kind of thanksgiving plaques normally reserved for saints, each reading ‘Thanks for the favors, ’ and signed with initials. A taxi to here costs BsF20.