The Iglesia de La Matriz is a church in the city of Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. Located in the heart of the port district of the city, surrounded by cobblestone streets and houses it has a historical importance in the city and was declared a National Monument

National Monuments of Chile

The National Monuments of Chile , also abbreviated MN, are the constructions, elements and places that form part of the country's cultural heritage, and they are protected by law...

 of Chile in 1971.

Origins

In 1559, the Bishop of Santiago

Archbishop of Santiago

Archbishop of Santiago may refer to:*Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.*Archbishop of Santiago...

, Rodrigo Marmolejo, founded the first temple in Valparaiso, a small chapel that was really little more than a hut initially. From this point as the settlement grew a series of successive religious congregations: Augustinian (1627), Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 (1664), Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy

Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy

The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives also known as Our Lady of Ransom is a Roman Catholic religious order established in 1218 by St...

 (1715), Sagrados Corazones (1834) and Jesuits (1850) used the church. Wealthy families from Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 developed the town and church giving it the distinctive Buenos Airean architectural feel it has today.

Destruction and reconstruction

In 1578, Sir Francis Drake

Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...

 was said to have devastated the port and looted the chapel, taking its treasures and a chalice of silver. During the 17th and 18th century the church suffered pirate attacks. The church has also had a very uncertain history given the frequency of earthquakes which have gutted the building. Since the initial foundation, three churches have been successively erected on the site of the first chapel.

In November 1822 an earthquake affected the church to the extent it had to be rebuilt stone by stone but this was not done quickly. The church remained a ruin for over a decade until reconstruction began in 1837, finished in 1842, under the direction of priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 Jose Antonio Riobío.
This fourth construction, is the one that still stands today.

In 1868, a quite unusual situation took place in the church when it was used as a voting venue for the elections.

Architectural style

The church of a typical basilical style, but is built in a way to represent three ships in a rectangular fashion, separated by two waters. The main facade stands out with its classic composition. Eight columns surround the body of the church and the interior walls are decorated with zenith

Zenith

The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction opposite to the apparent gravitational force at that location. The opposite direction, i.e...

al paintings. There are two main influences which make up the interior of the church including this classicist style of the tower, and the 18th century Creole style represented by its great heavy walls of adobe brick and the ceiling covered with clay roofing tiles.