Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Catedral
OFFLINE MAP
CATHEDRAL
GOOGLE MAP
(Roof tour admission US$1; roof tours 8am-noon & 2-4pm Mon-Sat)
Officially known as the
Basílica de la Asunción, León's cathedral is the largest in Central America, its expansive
design famously, and perhaps apocryphally, approved for construction in much more im-
portant Lima, Peru.
Leónese leaders originally submitted a more modest but bogus set of plans, and then ar-
chitect Diego José de Porres Esquivel, the Capitan General of Guatemala (also responsible
for San Juan Bautista de Subtiava, La Recolección and La Merced churches, among oth-
ers), pulled the switcheroo and built this beauty right here.
This is the cathedral's fourth incarnation. The 1610 original was replaced in 1624 with
a wood-and-adobe structure that pirate William Dampier burned to the ground in 1685.
Another adobe was used until work began on this enormous 'Antigüeño,' Central Americ-
an baroque-style masterpiece in 1747. Construction, done primarily by indigenous
laborers from Subtiava and Posoltega, went on for more than 100 years.
The cathedral is a sort of pantheon of Nicaraguan culture. The tomb of Rubén Darío,
León's favorite son, is on one side of the altar, guarded by a sorrowful lion and the in-
scription 'Nicaragua is created of vigor and glory, Nicaragua is made for freedom.'
Nearby rest the tombs of lesser-known Leónese poets Alfonso Cortés and Salomón de la
Selva, as well as Miguel Larreynaga.
Among the magnificent works of art within are the
Stations of the Cross
by Antonio
Sarria, considered masterpieces, and
El Cristo Negro de Pedrarias,
possibly the oldest
Catholic image in the Americas, brought here in 1528. Marble statues inside are beauti-
fully crafted, most notably the elaborate
Inmaculada Concepción de María
.
If it's clear, take the roof tour, with a spectacular view of the city and smoking volca-
noes beyond. The cathedral was having a face-lift at press time but should be completed
by the time you read this. Regardless it will still be open to the public.
Iglesia de la Recolección
(1a Av NE)
Three blocks north of the cathedral, the 1786 Iglesia de La Recolección is con-
sidered the city's most beautiful church, a Mexican-style baroque confection of swirling
columns and bas-relief medallions that portray the life of Christ.
CHURCH
