BASÍLICA CATEDRAL DE LA ASUNCIÓN DE LEÓN

It was built from 1610 to 1615 and again in 1624 (clay tile, wood and Adobe, a fire structure by the pirate Dampier in 1685) and finally a third time at the end of the th century. The current cathedral was born between 1747 and 1860 in a neo-classical Baroque style, and then it was restored in 1992, but the money intended for this purpose was rather badly used, and the painting is a party to the first rains! This is why the cathedral has a façade that has already been sufficiently damaged. It is said that there was a mistake somewhere and that, originally, the plans of this grandiose building were destined for the cathedral of Lima in Peru. In any case, this basilica is one of the most monumental testimonies of religious architecture bequeathed by Spaniards to the Americas. In 1824, during the civil war, the cathedral served as a fortress; there were no fewer than thirty cannons to defend the city. Today, his master piece, apart from a Christ in wood saved from the destruction of León Viejo, is the tomb of the poet Rubén Darío, on the right of the altar. The musician José de la Cruz Mena, the hero of the Miguel de Larreynaga independence, the poets Salomón de la Selva and Alfondo Cortés also have their grave. You will be able to climb in the campanile (statues of the Two Giants), from 8 am to 12 pm and from 14 pm to 16 pm (10 C $ per person). Nice photos in perspective and panoramic view over the roofs of the city and the chain of volcanoes around.

The cathedral is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011.