Would you believe me if I told you there’s a church with an inside made of gold? And it is more incredible to say it is in Latin America. This is the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, in Oaxaca, México. Get to know the mysteries and history behind this huge church located in the historical center of Oaxaca city.
Oaxaca, as well as almost all of Mexico, was conquered by the Spaniards. So now most of the population also professes the same faith as they did, the Christianity of the Catholic Church.
Being here the Spaniards built their houses, their shopping places, their haciendas and of course their churches.
One of these churches was the Santo Domingo church. This complex was ordered by the Dominicans and includes the church, the ex-convent and the garden where they cultivated (now the ethnobotanical garden).
CONSTRUCTION
The Dominicans began to build this church, with the convent (now a museum) and patio (now the ethnobotanical garden) possibly in the year 1551. And it was inaugurated before it was finished, to start the indoctrination of all the people that lived nearby.
It is built with quarry and other materials with a baroque style. It has inside gilded and fine carpentry and blacksmith work. The towers also have blue and white mosaics to decorate it. Imagine the amount of work to build this huge building with the amount of detail for the exterior sculptures and designs.
The churches and some other buildings built in this historical period were built by indigenous workers. But, the workers weren’t completely slaves. The owners of the work gave them food and clothes for their work (so basically slaves without getting hit).
DID YOU KNOW…?
The church of Santo Domingo de Guzman together with others had a set of tunnels that connected them?
This is a secret that not even many locals know, so when you stand in these streets near Santo Domingo Church you are probably standing over a tunnel.
Get to know all the secrets and more of this church in a guided tour to this historical complex.
WHY TO VISIT THE CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO?
The most obvious reason is if you are catholic, you can go to a mass in this church and enjoy the architecture and decorations inside meanwhile. But if you are not catholic then you should visit the Santo Domingo Church to get to know this gem of the baroque architecture in Oaxaca. Whatever is your choice, you should visit it to get amazed with the beautiful decorations of gold and fine carpentry and remember to look up to see the images of saints and important passages of the Bible in the ceiling.
When you come to Oaxaca you can’t miss this church. It is truly an icon of the city, a point of reunion of locals, tourists and merchants. If you don’t have time or can’t visit the inside, make sure to go take some pictures at least from the outside. It is one of the most instagrammable places of Oaxaca city.
I hope this post is useful for your next trip to Oaxaca. Follow me in social media for more content about Oaxaca.