The handsome, two-story Royal Customs House of Portobelo was originally built in 1630 to serve as the contaduría (counting house) for the king’s gold. Treasure brought across the isthmus was recorded and stored here until it could be placed on galleons and sailed to Spain. According to early records, no less than 233 soldiers were garrisoned in this building alone.
The customs house consists of two main rooms, which are now used as permanent exhibition halls. One room displays dozens of purple velvet robes, which are placed on the statue of the Black Christ every October when thousands of devotees descend on Portobelo to worship the icon. Among the donors are boxer Roberto Duran and salsa star Ismael Rivera. The other room contains replicas of Spanish-colonial rifles, sketches of Portobelo’s forts, 20th-century black-and-white photos of the town and a few dozen rusty cannonballs.
The building’s 2nd floor features an intriguing collection of photos and drawings of the Spanish-colonial fortresses that exist throughout Latin America. Also, don’t overlook the bronze cannon at the entrance – it was recovered from a sunken galleon and bears a Spanish coat of arms as well as the date of manufacture (1617).
