The Parroquia de Santa Prisca y San Sebastían, commonly known as the Church of Santa Prisca, is a

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

monument located in the city of

Taxco de Alarcón Taxco de Alarcón (; usually referred to as simply Taxco) is a small city and administrative center of Taxco de Alarcón Municipality located in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Taxco is located in the north-central part of the state, from the cit ...

, in the southern state of

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, built between 1751 and 1759. It is located on the east side of the main plaza of Taxco. The construction was ordered by

José de la Borda José de la Borda (Joseph de Laborde in French; c. 1700 – May 30, 1778) was a Spaniard who migrated to New Spain in the 18th century, amassing a great fortune in mines in Taxco and Zacatecas in Mexico. At one point, he was the richest man in M ...

, one of the most prosperous mine owners of the region of Taxco in the 18th century. From 1758 to 1806, the temple was the tallest building in Mexico, but was surpassed by the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in

San Luis Potosí City San Luis Potosí, commonly called SLP or simply San Luis, is the capital and the most populous city of the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. It is the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality of San Luis Potosí. The city lies at an eleva ...

. The Church of Santa Prisca considered one of the best of New Spanish

Churrigueresque Churrigueresque (; Spanish: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th c ...

Construction

The church was built between 1751 and 1759 by

(ca. 1700–1778), who had made a great fortune in the silver mines surrounding the town. Despite his wealth, however, the opulence of the church nearly bankrupted him. The construction of the church of Santa Prisca in Taxco lasted 15 years and was aimed at creating a space where the priest Manuel de la Borda--son of José de la Borda, benefactor and founder of the parish--could officiate mass. Although he had arrived in Taxco only about thirty-five years before the construction of the Santa Prisca temple,

was already one of the most important figures in the mineral, which is why the Archbishopric of Mexico allowed him to erect the parish your entire taste. Cayetano José de Siguenza drew the plans in the form of a very narrow Latin cross due to the conditions of the land and the architect Diego Durán Berruecos built it between 1751 and 1759. The altarpieces were designed by the brothers Isidoro Vicente and Luis de Balbás (adoptive sons of Jerónimo, the Mexican Churrigueresque master) who took advantage of the structure of the building to trace the symbolic and religious axes.

Description

The parish is located in a small hollow with respect to the rest of the city of Taxco artificially leveled. It has a Latin cross plan, with a side nave that serves as a chapel for the altar of the Souls and a tribune on a street with Gothic ribbed vaults with tiercerons with a decorated main key that camouflages access to the Sagrario (sanctuary). It has two twin towers in the

style and a chapel decorated with Talavera azulejos, characteristic of New Spanish architecture. The main facade is oriented to the west as was the custom, and in it classicist pilasters are combined with Solomonic columns used in the 17th century, which combined with posters, scrolls, ribbons, foliage, niches with saints, shields, diamond points, etc. arrive at an abundance of elements. In this way, it is seen how the work has a great verticalist and dominant sense. The high

-style towers were very well crafted in their upper part to leave intact the plinth that acts as a visual buttress to frame the portal of the

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

. This is how the front has a language of architectural composition, typical of the time, with cylindrical columns in the lower part and twisted columns in the upper part. Santa Prisca has nine floor-to-ceiling

s, worked in wood and covered with gold leaf. The style of the altarpieces forms a unit with the architectural ensemble, that is, it is a sample of mid-18th century New Spanish Baroque. The main altarpiece is dedicated to the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

and the patron saints of the city of Taxco de Alarcón:

Saint Prisca Prisca was a young Ancient Rome, Roman woman allegedly tortured and executed for her Christianity, Christian faith. The dates of her birth and death are unknown. She is revered as a saint and Christian martyr, martyr in Eastern Orthodox Church, Eas ...

and

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Dioclet ...

. It looks like a cascade of superimposed carvings where the tectonic and compositional structure is lost, leaving the whole that wants to be shown as a whole instead of being divided into parts. In the chapels of the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

of the temple there are two other important altarpieces, one dedicated to the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

and the other to the

Virgin of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Roma ...

. The central themes of the construction are: the patron saint Saint Prisca, Saint Sebastian, the evangelists, the shells (which symbolize the baptism of Jesus), the laurel leaves (which symbolize the triumph of faith) and the grapes, which represent the blood of Christ. Inside there are paintings by

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...

, called "the divine", an Oaxacan painter born in the 17th century, to whom

commissioned the paintings that decorate the building. In this church Miguel Cabrera painted ''Martyrdom of St. Sebastian'', ''Martyrdom of St. Prisca'', and also a great ''Assumption'' which still hangs in the sacristy. The oldest document of the parish archive dates from 1598.

Legend of Santa Prisca

There is a legend associated with the Santa Prisca Church. While it was in construction, José de la Borda left Taxco on business to Guanajuato, leaving construction work to the builders. Soon after Borda left, the sky filled with black clouds and cold winds struck the streets, whistling through the towers of the unfinished church. The dark and cold terrified the workmen as the large storm approached. Suddenly a large bolt of lightning struck showing an undefined black

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

that was swooping down on the church. Then it struck the cupola of the church, lighting it brilliantly. All of the tile covering the cupola began to shine with strange lights, allowing the inscription “Gloria a Dios en las alturas y paz en la tierra a los hombres de buena voluntad” (Glory to God in the Highest and peace on earth for men with good will) to be seen clearly. The whole town got down on their knees to pray, fearing that angry demons would destroy the church. Floating around the church were flashes of light and above the church appeared a beautiful woman who, smiling and with a peaceful face, caught the following lightning bolts in her hands.

Gallery

File:Santa Prisca HDR Photography Claudio Giovenzana www.longwalk.it.jpg, Interior of the temple, Templo de Santa Prisca de Taxco. File:Calle del arco - panoramio.jpg, The passageway to the Sagrario on Calle del Arco. File:Órgano monumental de Santa Prisca.JPG, Choir. File:Retablo impresionante de la Santa Prisca - panoramio.jpg, Altarpiece. File:AltarPriscaTaxco1.JPG, Reredos File:AltarPriscaTaxco4.JPG, Reredos File:FurnitureSacristyTaxco.JPG, Sacristy furniture. File:Parroquia de Santa Prisca 16.jpg, Dome. File:Church of Santa Prisca de Taxco in 1919.jpg, Church of Santa Prisca de Taxco in 1919. File:Chursch of Santa Prisca de Taxco in 1930.jpg, Church of Santa Prisca de Taxco in 1930. File:Main altar of the Church of Santa Prisca de Taxco in 1908.jpg, Main altar of the Church in 1908. INAH. File:Interior of the Church of Santa Prisca de Taxco in 1920.jpg, Interior of the Church of Santa Prisca in 1920. File:Templo de Santa Prisca (Taxco - Mexico) (28001689088).jpg, Roof File:Parroquia de Santa Prisca Taxco detalle superior de fachada.JPG, Upper facade File:Parroquia de Santa Prisca Taxco 2.jpg, The portal File:The Martyrdom of Saint Prisca (1760) by Miguel Cabrera.jpg, ''The Martyrdom of St. Prisca'' (1760) by

. Located inside.

References

{{coord, 18, 33, 23, N, 99, 36, 17, W, region:MX-GRO_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Roman Catholic churches in Taxco 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Mexico Tourist attractions in Guerrero Roman Catholic churches completed in 1759 1750s establishments in Mexico 1751 establishments in New Spain Spanish Colonial architecture in Mexico Baroque church buildings in Mexico World Heritage Tentative List for Mexico

Construction

Description

Legend of Santa Prisca

Gallery

See also

References