Mission San Miguel Arcángel, Spanish colonial mission in San Miguel, United States
Mission San Miguel Arcángel is a Spanish colonial church in San Miguel, California, built between 1816 and 1818 with adobe bricks and walls several feet thick. The compound includes the church as well as a museum, priests' quarters, and a cemetery, all arranged around an open courtyard.
Father Fermín Lasuén founded this station in 1797 as the sixteenth in the chain of California missions, meant to secure the connection between the northern and southern outposts. An earthquake in 2003 damaged the buildings heavily, leading to extensive restoration work that closed the site to visitors for many years.
The interior frescos display scenes and patterns created under the guidance of Esteban Munras, an artist from Catalonia who worked alongside native painters. These murals cover the church walls and ceiling with bold colors that have remained unchanged for nearly two centuries.
The compound is open daily and offers both self-guided walks and guided tours through the museum and church. The best light for photographing the frescos occurs in late morning when natural sunlight enters through the windows.
The church interior preserves its original wall paintings, which have never been painted over or renewed, unlike most other missions along the California coast. The burial registry records over 2,200 names with remarkable detail about the age, origin, and cause of death of those interred.
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