While I tend to most appreciate a fully polychromed marble church in the Imperial Roman tradition, I have also always been drawn to wooden church structures. There is a certain rusticity about these churches that, much like a log cabin, feels comfortable in some way, shape or form. The churches that we will look at today fall into this tradition and are referred to as the churches of Chiloé. This particular grouping of churches is located on the islands of the Chiloé Archipelago (ergo, the churches of Chiloé) which are in turn located off the coast of Chile on the western-most edge of the continent of South America.
These churches are entirely constructed of wood and are distinct from the Spanish colonial architectural style that generally dominates much of South and Central American architecture. These Chiloéan churches have construction dates that range from the eighteenth through early twentieth century. Today we will provide a small sampling of just a few of them.
As missions, these churches were under the aegis of the Spanish Jesuits, but given the amount of expansive territory they had to cover, Jesuits from other locations such as Germany and Hungary were brought in to help augment these missions, and it is their influence, and that of their own national architecture traditions, that helped to influence the design and construction of these churches. Local carpenters were were responsible for the construction, many of whom were primarily ship builders.
With all of that in mind, here is a look at just some of these interesting and unique ecclesiastical structures.
SELECT INTERIORS
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| Iglesia de San Francisco, Castro |
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| Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Gracia, Nercón |
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| Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, Dalcahue |
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| Iglesia de San Juan, Dalcahue |
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| Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Loreto de Achao |
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| Detail of the high altar and retable, Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Loreto de Achao |
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| Detail of ceiling, Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Loreto de Achao |
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| Iglesia de Vilupulli, Chonchi |
SELECT EXTERIORS
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| Iglesia San Francisco de Castro |
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| Iglesia de Detif |
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| Iglesia de Ichuac |
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| Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de Gracias |
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| Iglesia de Tenaún |
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| Iglesia de Vilupulli, Chonchi |
What comes out of all this, of course, is that one makes the best of whatever resources one has to work with, always seeking to facilitate the good, the true and the beautiful.
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