Iglesias

Ok, so having been to Europe, I really feel I have been outdone on churches for the rest of my life. Going to Italy is like constantly being in a cathedral, and since then I really haven´t ever been too keen on touring other churches to date. The last cathedral I was in was St. Pat´s a few years ago. However, I keeping with my desire to see everything in Santiago, I walked around one day and lo and behold, I came upon three famous churches. The crazy thing was, they were absolutely nothing alike, and I found them so interesting I wanted to write an entire post on them. So here goes.

The first church I will mention is Iglesia de San Antonio, which is the oldest church here. And let me tell you, it looks it. The poor thing looks run down and beat up. It looks even worse inside, and is absolutely the ugliest little thing I´ve ever seen. Granted, it´s history, and I don´t want to not appreciate that, but I just don´t think I could come to worship in such a cold, cold little place. I´ll put pictures up later, but I always feel awkward taking pictures in a church, so there aren´t any of the inside. I feel like I´m mocking God or something by touristizing the inside of a chapel or something.

The next church is completely the opposite. It´s huge, very ornate, and right on the corner of Plaza de Armas. It´s beautiful, with all the huge marble statues and Gothic architecture that makes up a typical European cathedral. It was very beautiful I must say, and I was not the only one who was there just to look. However, I always find churches like this rather ostentatious, so I was not overly impressed I must say. Seems like anyone can make an ornate church full of marble and dramatic statues these days, so yay for having seen Santiago´s.

Now I have been in a lot of churches in my day, but I found a church in Santiago that is actually comfortable. And I don´t mean you go inside and you could lounge about, I mean you walk inside and you feel relaxed. Your shoulders release a little tension, and you feel vaguely at home. This is Iglesia de Merced. I walk past it every day on my way to the gym, and I always noticed the outside because it´s this very pretty red color with yellow trim, and it always looked happy. Inside is just breathtaking. But not in a gaudy way, in a subtle and beautiful way. It´s as if someone actually took the time to design the church in hopes people would be able to truly use it as a sanctuary from their otherwise hectic lives. I think this is because the church is all in pink. Pink marble, pink trimming, magenta molding. You may be thinking there is just no way that could work, but it really does! It just gives off this warm atmosphere. And the saints´alcoves are all different, and the saints´faces look comfortable, if perhaps a little concerned. I really enjoyed myself there. I reccomend it to everyone, just for 5 minutes. It´ll make your day.