San Francisco Church, Santiago de Chile

A view of the western facade of San Francisco Church in Santiago, Chile.

The San Francisco Church (Spanish: Iglesia de San Francisco) is a Franciscan church on Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, in the downtown of Santiago de Chile. The church, along with the adjacent convent, has the distinction of being the oldest colonial-era building in the country.^[1]

The church was consecrated in 1622.^[1] The bell tower was destroyed by an earthquake in 1647, while the rest of the building successfully resisted it. In 1730 another earthquake badly damaged the rebuilt tower, which was demolished in 1751. The current bell tower is of Victorian architecture and was constructed in the mid-1800s.^[1] Its architect was Fermín Vivaceta and features a distinctive clock.^[1] The church survived 15 strong earthquakes thanks to an ingenious system of a "floating foundation", invented by the indigenous of the area, utilized by the Franciscans in making the foundations under the load bearing walls. [2]

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.

References

1. "San Francisco Church and Convent". Entry on the UNESCO Tentative List. Retrieved 15 May 2012.

Coordinates: 33°26′36.57″S 70°38′52.05″W / 33.4434917°S 70.6477917°W