Mission San Xavier del Bac

Mission San Xavier del Bac is an old European church. I like how the surrounding environment and the church itself were not renovated. I think this place is interesting to take a look how these missionaries tried to create the same atmosphere as the churches in Europe. The faux mural on the wall and the ceiling is not as advanced as in ones in Europe; however, they tried to utilize what they had. Even the teaches from the books were decorated with the illustrations, but I did not find any gold leaves imprints. It is nice to experience the history from this church. more

Prior to going to this place, I did my research and found out that this mission has been referred to as the "Sistine Chapel of the New World" because of the way the mission was colorfully constructed the artwork inside. Also, the same Italian artists that worked on the Sistine Chapel also came to San Xaxier to help restore its interiors. When the expectations are high, it's really hard for a place to match up. What I found was a mission with one of its towers under construction, and in general just and old mission that was sort of run-down. I can't really recommend going to this place unless you really wanted to experience it first hand. Some of the material/pictures you can find online is much better than what you'll see by going there. more