Facade of Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi at Twilight- Santa Fe New Mexico

I made this image after having driven from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, by the way of Cochiti Lake/Tent Rocks. Before arriving to this destination, I had... more

by Silvio Ligutti

Title

Facade of Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi at Twilight- Santa Fe New Mexico

Artist

Silvio Ligutti

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

I made this image after having driven from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, by the way of Cochiti Lake/Tent Rocks. Before arriving to this destination, I had in mind what I wanted to photograph...wanting to avoid "cliched" images, I needed to think long and hard about using different perspectives on buildings that had been photographed thousands of times! I waited until right before going back to our hotel in Albuquerque to photograph the stunning architecture of the Basilica during the Blue Hour. Thanks for looking. FAA watermark WILL NOT show up on final printed artwork.

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Quoted from Wikipedia:

"The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

The cathedral was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 and 1886 on the site of an older adobe church, La Parroquia (built in 1714-1717). An older church on the same site, built in 1626, was destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The new cathedral was built around La Parroquia, which was dismantled once the new construction was complete. A small chapel on the north side of the cathedral was kept from the old church.

Influenced by the French-born Archbishop Lamy and in dramatic contrast to the surrounding adobe structures, Saint Francis Cathedral was designed in the Romanesque Revival style. As such, the cathedral features characteristic round arches separated by Corinthian columns and truncated square towers. The large rose window in front and those of the Twelve Apostles in the lateral nave windows were imported from Clermont-Ferrand in France. The towers were originally planned to be topped with dramatic 160-foot (49 m) steeples, but due to lack of funds, these were never built. The left tower is a single row of bricks taller than the right tower. The cathedral was built from yellow limestone blocks quarried near the present site of Lamy. A 2005 addition to the upper facade of the cathedral is a small, round window featuring a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit. It is a stained glass replica of the translucent alabaster window designed in the 17th-century by the Italian artist Bernini for St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

The Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi was officially elevated to a basilica by Pope Benedict XVI on October 4, 2005, when it was named the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi."

Uploaded

March 20th, 2015