Villa Soriano

Villa Soriano stands where the Río Negro meets the Uruguay, and it traces its founding to a Franciscan reduction of Chaná people established in 1624, which is generally reckoned to make it the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the country. Very little is left of that period, but the village keeps a low colonial street plan, a church, a small museum and an air of having been passed over, with the river running wide below it.

What to look for

• The 1624 founding - generally reckoned the oldest surviving settlement in Uruguay.
• The village plan - low colonial streets above the river.
• The local museum - the record of the settlement and the Chana people.
• The river confluence - the Rio Negro meeting the Uruguay below the village.

When to go

Year round; the village is quiet in any season. Fishing brings visitors in summer. The gravel road in is difficult after rain.

Good to know

Almost nothing survives from the seventeenth century and the claim is documentary rather than visible. The village is very small with minimal facilities. The access road is unsurfaced.

Nearby

Mercedes is northeast, and Carmelo is southeast.

Key facts