The Church of Saint Anthony of Padua (Spanish: Templo de San Antonio de Padua) is a Catholic

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

and monument in downtown

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...

, Mexico, built between 1895 and 1908. The church is widely considered the masterpiece of

Refugio Reyes Rivas José Refugio Reyes Rivas (September 2, 1862 - February 3, 1943) was a Mexican architect, author of some of the most representative buildings of the city of Aguascalientes, where his work is considered part of the historical and architectural her ...

, a mason who went to become one of the most influential architects in the region. In this work Rivas departed from any specific style, explicitly choosing an

eclectic architecture Eclecticism is a 19th and 20th century architectural style in which a single piece of work incorporates a mixture of elements from previous historical styles to create something that is new and original. In architecture and interior design, the ...

drawing from neoclassical, baroque, Russian and even gothic and Islamic influences. The building was originally commissioned by the

franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

, but it is currently managed by the

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

Description

The

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

is made of yellow limestone extracted from Ciénega Grande, Aguascalientes. It is styled with ornamental columns. The temple's most prominent detail is its dome, located behind the central tower, which is set below another small bulbous dome featuring a cross at the top. Two other circular towers sit slightly behind the front façade. It contains five arched glass windows, each surrounded by columns. Three main arches lead to the central entrance.

Interior

The

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

has a number of

pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points ...

s with geometric details and sculpted flowers in its interior. The walls contain several paintings framed by medallion structures made by Candelario Rivas that show miracles attributed to

Saint Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was bor ...

. Chandeliers hang from an arched ceiling, rife with more pendentives just above the capitals of Doric-styled columns. A balcony above the common area contains a

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

and a small number of seats, usually reserved for important guests. Below, the common area consists of a main section in front of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

, and two on the sides.

Construction

The city's population took a special interest in the construction of the temple because its architect,

, had no formal architectural training. Construction began in 1895 and was completed in 1908. During construction, Reyes Rivas was often criticized by Camilo E. Pani, an engineer who believed the dome would collapse as soon as the supporting beams were removed. Rivas had to ask his own family to help him remove the beams, out of distrust from workers. The dome was able to withstand its weight and Reyes Rivas was praised for his accomplishments. In recognition of this and his other buildings, the

Autonomous University of Aguascalientes , mottoeng = , established = 19 June 1973 , founder = C.P. Humberto Martínez de León , type = Public university , rector = Francisco Javier Avelar González ...

awarded Reyes Rivas a posthumous degree in architecture in 1985.

Description

Interior

Construction

References

Further reading