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The centerpiece of Villa de Leyva is Plaza Mayor. At 14,000 m², it’s one of the largest plazas in Latin America and the largest made with cobblestones. While most main plazas in Colombia were renamed to honor Simón Bolívar, this one has kept its original name since the beginning.
In the center of Plaza Mayor is a simple Mudéjar fountain. It provided water to the town for over 400 years. The mountain in the background creates an idyllic scene unmatched in any town in Colombia.
Our Lady of the Rosary
The most important building on the plaza is Our Lady of the Rosary (Nuestra Señora del Rosario). It’s a rather simple church that dates back to 1604.
Inside, there are a few chapels on either side. If you look carefully, you can see where Antonio Nariño, a hero of Colombian independence who died in Villa de Leyva, was once buried. You can visit the house where he died a couple blocks away.
House of the First Congress
The House of the First Congress (Casa del Primer Congreso) sits on the eastern corner of the plaza. It was in that building where the First Congress of the United Provinces of Nueva Granada, the predecessor of Colombia, met on October 4, 1812. It’s now where the municipal council meets.
The building underwent a long renovation process that was finally finished in 2019. If you’re able to walk inside, there’s an interesting mural in the courtyard.
Colonial Buildings
The rest of Plaza Mayor is surrounded by colonial buildings. Among the notable ones are Casa Museo Luis Alberto Acuña, Casa Quintero, and Casa Jose María Vargas Vila.
