Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Dyed a deep yellow accented with cream and age, the lavishly decorated facade may be
what makes the cover of all the tourist brochures, but be sure to stop inside and admire the
slender mahogany columns and ceiling decorated with harvest motifs.
CHURCH
Iglesia de La Merced
Home to León's patron saint, La Virgen de La Merced, this not-so-immediately enchant-
ing gray edifice is considered the city's second-most-important church.
The image, originally from Barcelona, was brought to León's original church in 1528.
After Volcán Momotombo erupted and forced the city's evacuation, the Leónese built a
new church here in 1615, replaced with the current building in the early 1700s.
Iglesia Dulce Nombre de Jesús el Calvario
(Calle Central Rubén Darío)
A hodgepodge of neoclassical and baroque styles, 18th-century
El Calvario stands at the top of Calle Central Rubén Darío. The interior is nice, with pre-
dictably gory, full-sized statues of Jesus and the thieves being crucified, but you're here
for the vividly painted facade between the red-brick bell towers, with brightly colored
bas-relief biblical scenes that resemble comic-strip panels.
CHURCH
Museo de Arte Fundación Ortiz-Guardián
OFFLINE MAP
MUSEUM
GOOGLE MAP
(3a Av SO, Iglesia San Francisco, ½c S; admission US$0.80; 10am-6pm Tue-Sat, 8am-4pm Sun)
Probably the finest contemporary-art museum in all of Central America, the Ortiz-
Guardián Collection has spilled over from its original home in Casa Don Norberto
Ramiréz, refurbished in 2000 to its original Creole Civil style, with Arabic tiles and im-
pressive flagstones. It and another beautiful old home across the street are now packed
with artwork; a Spanish-speaking guide costs an extra US$1.25, which is well worth it.
Begin surrounded by the luxurious realism of the Renaissance and spare beauty of the
colonial period, then wander through romanticism, modernism, postmodernism and actu-
ally modern pieces by Cuban, Peruvian and other Latin American schools. Rubens, Picas-
so, Chagall and other big names make an appearance, but it's the work by Latin American
masters - Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Fernando Botero, Roberto Matta and more - that
define the collection.
