Capilla del Hospital San Juan de Dios de Chillán

The rectangular chapel features one-meter-thick adobe walls, wooden columns supporting twelve arches, and covered corridors on three sides of the building.

The chapel dates from 1874, replacing the original 1791 structure ordered by Governor General Ambrosio O'Higgins as part of the fourth hospital established in Chile.

The interior displays a single nave with a hemicycle altar, where ten wooden columns form arches leading to a dome, representing colonial religious architecture.

Following severe damage from the 2010 earthquake, the chapel underwent restoration funded by the National Regional Development Fund to preserve its structure.

The chapel contains the only remaining example in Chile of a vaulted ceiling formed by converging ribs extending from column capitals.

Location: Chillán

GPS coordinates: -36.61901,-72.11892

Latest update: March 13, 2025 18:44