The Iglesia San Blas de Illescas ( en, Church of Saint Blaise of Illescas) is a
Catholic parish church located on the center plaza of
Coamo, Puerto Rico. Construction on the church began in 1661; it has since been judged "one of the most important works of religious architecture in Puerto Rico".
[Church of San Blas de Illescas of Coamo]
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The church is separated from the open plaza below by a series of ceremonial steps and a delicate cast iron balustrade. The delicately curved Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
facade reflects a major reconstruction completed in 1784. A two-level bell-gable
The bell gable ( es, espadaña, french: clocher-mur, it, campanile a vela) is an architectural element crowning the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small ho ...
with open arches and bells is prominently featured in the facade. The parish of San Blas of Coamo is one of the oldest on the island.[ with ]
See also
* List of the oldest buildings in Puerto Rico
References
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico
1661 establishments in Puerto Rico
Spanish Colonial architecture in Puerto Rico
Coamo, Puerto Rico
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