San Antonio de Padua Chapel, Baroque church in Coyoacán, Mexico.
San Antonio de Padua Chapel is a Baroque church in Coyoacán located at the intersection of Universidad Avenue and Francisco Sosa Street, adjacent to the Altillo Bridge spanning the Magdalena River. The building displays typical Baroque architectural features with its decorated surfaces and structural proportions.
The construction date is uncertain, placed between the 16th and 18th centuries. Xavier Moyssén proposed the 18th century, citing a 1750 map by lieutenant corregidor Carlos Casuso that does not record the temple, and the adjacent bridge was finished in February 1763. The temple was declared a national monument on 10 April 1932 and included in the Coyoacán historic monuments zone on 20 December 1990.
The chapel is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, and a local legend says a family of smugglers built it after he saved them from arrest. Inside, visitors can see a carved altarpiece and a Catalan vault, a flat brick ceiling typical of the region.
The chapel stands at the corner of Avenida Universidad and Francisco Sosa, next to the stone Puente de Altillo over the Magdalena River, and is a short walk from Miguel Ángel de Quevedo metro station. Avenida Universidad is a heavily trafficked artery, so approach on foot from the side streets. The building is a national monument, so visits are for viewing the exterior and, when open, the interior.
Painter Eugenio Landesio captured the building, bridge, and river in an oil painting that shows scenes from daily life in past centuries. This historical artwork preserves a visual record of how the landscape and waterway looked long ago.
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