The late-18th-century Casa Morales is better known as Casa de la Capitulación , for it was here that the Spaniards who were defeated in the naval battle of Lago de Maracaibo signed the act of capitulation on August 3, 1823, sealing the independence of Gran Colombia. This is the only residential colonial building left in the city. It has been restored, fitted with period furniture and decorated with paintings of heroes of the War of Independence.
