Basilica and Convent of San Francisco
Baroque Franciscan complex in central Lima with tiled cloisters, an old library and catacombs.
The Franciscans were granted this site in the sixteenth century, and the present church was rebuilt after earthquake damage to designs begun by the Portuguese architect Constantino de Vasconcellos and completed by Manuel de Escobar, being consecrated in 1673. Its yellow and white facade, carved stone portal and twin towers are among the best known images of colonial Lima, and the structure survived the great earthquake of 1746 that flattened much of the city. The complex lies within the UNESCO-listed Historic Centre of Lima.
Guided visits take in the main cloister, lined with seventeenth-century Sevillian tiles and painted scenes from the life of Saint Francis, the refectory, a carved cedar choir and the convent library, whose shelves hold thousands of early printed books and parchment volumes. Beneath the church lie the catacombs, used as a burial ground until the early nineteenth century and holding the remains of many thousands of people, with bones arranged in geometric patterns in brick-lined wells.
Highlights
- Catacombs used as a city burial ground until the 1800s
- Main cloister lined with seventeenth-century Sevillian tiles
- Convent library of early printed and parchment books
- Carved stone portal and twin towers that survived the 1746 earthquake
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