Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament, Colonia del Sacramento

Here we are! Welcome to the Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament, or simply the Mother Church, considered the oldest religious temple in all of Uruguay. Take a second to admire this façade and the surroundings of the Plaza de Armas. We are standing in the heart of the historic neighborhood of Colonia del Sacramento, declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1995. A journey through its history. The history of this church is worthy of an adventure novel. It all began on February 2, 1680, the same year the city was founded, when a very humble temple was built here made only of straw and clod. Over the years, due to constant disputes between the Spanish and the Portuguese over this strategic position on the Río de la Plata, the building suffered multiple destructions and reconstructions. At the beginning of the 19th century, between 1808 and 1810, the Spanish architect Tomás Toribio designed the temple that served as the basis for the structure we see today. However, a chance event changed its luck again: during a storm in 1823, lightning struck directly on the sacristy. The dramatic thing was that under it there was a Portuguese magazine with ammunition stored from the Cisplatin era. The resulting explosion destroyed two thirds of the building, requiring a new restoration between 1836 and 1841. The present and what to see inside. At the cross…

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