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

Franciscan , 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 = , ...

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 * Chri ...

Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins ( en, General Liberator Bernardo O'Higgins Avenue), popularly known as La Alameda (meaning, a street bordered by poplar trees), is the main avenue of Santiago, Chile. It runs east-west in the center o ...

, in the downtown of

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

. 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 tow ...

was destroyed by an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

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

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. 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 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 styles known as Victorian w ...

and was constructed in the mid-1800s. Its architect was

Fermín Vivaceta Fermín Vivaceta Rupio (January 12, 1829 – February 21, 1890) was a Chilean architect, teacher and firefighter. Life Vivaceta was born in Santiago, Chile on January 12, 1829. He was son of Fermín Vivaceta, an Argentinean citizen residing in C ...

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 Barrio París-Londres is a barrio located in Santiago, Chile. The neighborhood intersects at Calle Londres and Calle París, located behind the San Francisco Church, in its former orchard. Barrio París-Londres features shops, hostels, hotels an ...

. The other part is the current home of the

Museo Colonial Museo Colonial (English: ''Colonial Museum'') is a historical, cultural and religious museum located in Santiago, Chile. The museum explores the colonial period of Chile and South America, with a collection of paintings, sculpture, furniture and o ...

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 ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for M ...

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