Santa Rosa de Viterbo, Boyacá

Country ColombiaDepartmentBoyacá DepartmentProvinceTundama ProvinceGovernment • MayorWilson Ricardo Báez Solano
(2020-2023)Elevation2,753 m (9,032 ft)Population • Total11,329Time zoneUTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)

Santa Rosa de Viterbo is a town and municipality in Boyacá Department, Colombia, part of the Tundama Province, a subregion of Boyacá.

Viterbite, not a mineral but a mixture of allophane and wavellite, occurs in and was named after this municipality.

History

Santa Rosa de Viterbo was founded by the Spanish in 1689. Three priests petitioned the Archbishop of Santa Fe for resources to found the parish of Santa Rosa de Viterbo. A mayor was appointed in 1690; the first being José de los Reyes.

The "Aerolito"

In the year 1810, a meteorite fell in Santa Rosa, and it was discovered by a farmer of the town. The mayor decided to place it in the middle of the town, in front of the church. A hundred years later, the president Rafael Reyes decided to take it to Bogotá. There it was divided in two big parts; one of the parts stayed in Bogotá, and the other is currently in a museum in Chicago.

Born in Santa Rosa de Viterbo

• Rafael Reyes, former president of Colombia
• Fernando Soto Aparicio (1933), screenwriter, poet, and novelist
• Juan José Reyes-Patria Escobar, Colombian politician and military leader

Further reading

• Ramírez, J. Emilio (1949) "The meteorites of Santa Rosa de Viterbo, Colombia" Popular Astronomy, Vol. 57, p. 29

References

5°53′N 72°59′W / 5.883°N 72.983°W / 5.883; -72.983