Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Bogot, Gothic church in La Candelaria, Colombia.
The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen is a church in La Candelaria, Bogotá, designed by Salesian architect Giovanni Buscaglione in a Florentine Gothic style with Byzantine and Arab touches. It has three naves in a Latin cross plan, and its walls are painted in alternating brown and cream, the emblematic colors of the Carmelites.
The building was created in 1926 following designs by an Italian architect who incorporated influences from travels through Egypt and Turkey into the work. These Middle Eastern inspirations shaped the artistic direction from the project's beginning.
The brown and cream colour scheme inside and out refers to the Carmelite order, which founded the original monastery on this site in 1606 under Elvira de Padilla. The church is the national sanctuary of the Virgin of Carmen, a devotion spread across Colombia by canon Francisco Javier Baldúa. On 16 July, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the building fills with devotees.
The building sits in the historic downtown area and is easy to reach on foot. Visitors are welcome during open hours, and it is best to dress modestly and move quietly through the interior.
The decoration blends Byzantine elements with Arabic style features, which is rarely seen in South America. This unusual combination emerged from an artistic experiment that was considered unconventional at the time.
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