The San Francisco Church (Spanish: ''Iglesia de San Francisco'') is a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

church on Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, in the downtown of

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

. The church, along with the adjacent convent, is one of the oldest colonial-era buildings in the country. It has been resistant to about 15 earthquakes of magnitude over 7.

History

The church was consecrated in 1622. The first

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

was destroyed by an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

in 1647 and its collapse caused damage in a part of the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. The rest of the building successfully resisted it. In 1730 another

badly damaged the rebuilt tower, which was demolished in 1751. The current bell tower is of

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the st ...

and was constructed in the mid-1800s. Its architect was Fermín Vivaceta and features a distinctive clock. In the early years of the 20th century, a part of the convent was sold and demolished to build the Barrio París-Londres. The other part is the current home of the Museo Colonial.

Architecture

The original Latin cross plan of the church was modified by the addition of side aisles, resulting in a rectangular plan. Its main facade has been remodeled three times. The church nave features a coffered ceiling, which is

Mudéjar Mudéjar were Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period following the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for Mudéjar art, which was greatly influenced by Islamic art, but produced typically by Christian craftsmen for C ...

in style and its construction began in 1615. Detalle_techo_artesonado

References

{{coord, 33, 26, 36.57, S, 70, 38, 52.05, W, type:landmark, display=title Churches in Santiago, Chile Roman Catholic churches in Chile Roman Catholic churches completed in 1622 Franciscan churches