Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of Santiago is the main temple of the Catholic Church in Chile. The temple is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is located in the center of Santiago, overlooking Plaza de Armas and Plaza Mayor. The architectural ensemble of the cathedral consists of the archbishop's palace and the temple itself. All of these buildings have been considered National Monuments since 1951.
The current church is already the fifth in this place. Four previous buildings were destroyed by fire or earthquake. The construction of the new cathedral began in 1748. It was overseen by the architect Butler Matias Vasquez Acuna, who decided to make the church larger and more resilient to future earthquakes. Toeska designed the facade of the cathedral in the neoclassical style. In 1846, construction began on the chapel under the direction of the architect Eusebio Celli.
At the end of the 19th century, Archbishop Mariano Casanova ordered a series of changes that turned the cathedral into the building we see today. He invited the architect Ignacio Cremones to work in 1898. The new design of the temple was made in a mixture of Tuscan and Roman styles. The roof is made in the form of a cylindrical vault on supports. Choir stalls and free space for worshipers appeared in front of the altar. The decor of the cathedral is richly decorated with stucco, frescoes, icons and gilding. The ceiling in the aisles is formed by small domes, one in each nave, which are separated from each other by arches. An organ, two pulpits and an altar made of mahogany appeared in the cathedral.
The existing tower was replaced with two new ones. They divided the upper part of the façade, on which the sculptures of St. John, Virgin Mary and St. Roch were installed. The main altar was created in Munich in 1912 from white marble with bronze decorations.
In the crypt of the temple lie the remains of all the bishops and archbishops of Santiago. Since the beginning of 2005, during the year, the reconstruction of the main altar and the crypt was carried out. During this reconstruction, a new crypt and a small chapel were built.
In 2010, during the last earthquake, the building of the cathedral was damaged again. The Chilean government began restoration of the façade in April 2014 and planned to complete all work by the end of the year.
