Showing 1-15 of 15 results
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Casa Museo de Antonio Nariño
Antonio Nariño was known as the forefather of Colombia's independence and Casa Museo de Antonio Nariño is the house where he lived until his death in 1823. Nariño was a fierce defender of human rights and is also revered for translating Thomas Paine's Rights of Man into Spanish. The house has been converted into a museum containing colonial objects and memorabilia related to this great man.
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Casa Museo de Antonio Ricaurte
Antonio Ricaurte fought under Bolívar and is remembered for his heroic act of self-sacrifice in the battle of San Mateo (near Caracas in Venezuela) in 1814. Defending an armory and closely encircled by the Spaniards, he let them in, then set fire to the gunpowder kegs and blew up everybody, including himself. The battle was won.
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Casa Museo de Luis Alberto Acuña
Featuring works by the painter, sculptor, writer and historian who was inspired by influences ranging from Muisca mythology to contemporary art, Casa Museo de Luis Alberto Acuña has been set up in the mansion where Acuña (1904-93) lived for the last 15 years of his life.
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Convento del Santo Ecce Homo
The Convento del Santo Ecce Homo, founded by the Dominican fathers in 1620, is a large stone-and-adobe construction with a lovely courtyard. The floors are paved with stones quarried in the region, so they contain ammonites and fossils, including petrified corn and flowers. There are also fossils in the base of a statue in the chapel.
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El Fósil
El Fósil is a reasonably complete kronosaurus fossil, a 120-million-year-old prehistoric marine reptile resembling an overgrown crocodile. The fossil is 7m long (the animal was about 12m long but its tail hasn't survived). It's a baby kronosaurus (the adult animals were far larger) and it remains in the place where it was found.
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Estación Astronómica Muisca (El Infiernito)
The Estación Astronómica Muisca (El Infiernito) dates from the early centuries AD and, like a sort of Stonehenge, was used by the Indians to determine the seasons. The site contains 30-odd cylindrical stone monoliths sunk vertically into the ground about 1m from each other in two parallel lines 9m apart.
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Iglesia de San Agustín
Villa de Leyva has four churches, all of which date back to the town's early years. The Iglesia de San Agustín no longer serves religious purposes and is not open to the public (though you might be able to cajole the door guard to let you poke your head inside).
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Iglesia de San Francisco
Villa de Leyva has four churches, all of which date back to the town's early years. The Iglesia de San Francisco no longer serves religious purposes and is not open to the public (though you might be able to cajole the door guard to let you poke your head inside).
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Iglesia del Carmen
Villa de Leyva has four churches, all of which date back to the town's early years. The Iglesia del Carmen has interesting paintings in the chancel and the wooden structure supporting the roof.
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Iglesia Parroquial
Villa de Leyva has four churches, all of which date back to the town's early years. The Iglesia Parroquial, the parish church facing the main square, was built in 1608 and has hardly changed since. It boasts a marvelous baroque main retable.
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Museo del Carmen
One of the best museums of religious art in the country, Museo del Carmen is housed in the convent of the same name. It contains valuable paintings, carvings, altarpieces and other religious objects dating from the 16th century onward. It's largely repetitive if you've already been to El Fósil
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Museo Paleontológico
Museo Paleontológico has a collection of locally found fossils dating from the period when the area was a seabed (100 to 150 million years ago).
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Ostrich Farm
A slightly incongruous Ostrich Farm, home to more than 120 ostriches and a handful of llamas, horses and sheep. The farm has a restaurant where you can dine on ostrich meat and a small shop that sells ostrich leather shoes and enormous ostrich eggs.
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Plaza Mayor
You are likely to start your tour of the town from the Plaza Mayor. Measuring nearly 120m by 120m, this is reputedly the largest main square in the country. The vast expanse is interrupted by only a small Mudejar fountain in its middle, which provided water to the village inhabitants for almost four centuries.
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Villa de Leyva
Villa de Leyva is a leisurely place made for wandering around charming stone streets, listening to the sound of church bells and enjoying the lazy rhythm of days gone by. It's still very traditional, and locals greet strangers in the street with 'Buenos días' or 'Buenas tardes'. Be sure to return the greeting. Small as it is, the town has half-a-dozen museums, most of which are in old colonial buildings. For a marvelous bird's-eye view of the town, walk SE of the market and climb the Hill.
Showing 1-15 of 15 results
