The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is a Colombian Catholic basilica located in

Jardín Jardín (), is a town and municipality in the southwest region of Antioquia, Colombia. It is bounded by the Andes, Jericó, and Támesis municipalities to the north and the Caldas department to the south. The municipality is located between th ...

, Antioquia, within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jericó. It is a

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

temple that lacks a

rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...

and occupies an area of 1.680 m², built entirely from hand carved stone quarried in the foothills of the town.

History

The basilica was first erected as a vice parish in 1872 and was started by Father San Juan Nepomuceno Barrera. He allegedly asked that sinners bring stones from the nearby quarry equal in weight to the weight of their sins for its construction. It became a parish in 1881, but the construction of the present church did not begin until March 20, 1918. It was completed in 1940 with José Angel Botero as the director. It would be the same Botero who modified the original plans, drawn by Giovanni Buscaglione, a Salesian architect and priest from

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. While the building was still under construction, it was opened in 1932, still lacking the towers and part of the facade. In 1979, the city experienced an earthquake that affected not only the church but also El Libertador park nearby, located in front of the temple. The park had to be rebuilt almost completely, also, in the case of the church, it was necessary to repair several doors and build two emergency exits; reforms that were exploited to improve the sound amplification system. On June 3, 2003, the church was elevated to the rank of minor basilica, becoming the twenty-fourth Colombian church in obtaining such a title.

Architecture

The basilica has 128 windows and skylights and two

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

er bells. The statue of San Juan Bautista, the holy water font, the tabernacle, and the pulpit are made out of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara ...

. Its interior is painted turquoise. Its two towers and crosses are made of aluminum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Jardin) National monuments of Colombia Basilica churches in Colombia