Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción

The Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción, completed in 1797, is the most architecturally significant colonial building in the Central Valley of Costa Rica and the oldest church in the country still in its original form. Its survival over more than two centuries of earthquakes is a direct result of its construction: walls two metres thick and a low, wide profile that distributes seismic stress far better than the taller, thinner structures that collapsed throughout the region.

The interior is calm and uncluttered. Twenty stained glass windows imported from France filter the light into the nave. The facade, with its modest twin towers, is more restrained than colonial churches in wealthier colonial cities, but there is a solidity and confidence to the building that gives it a presence beyond its size. Come in the morning when the light through the stained glass is most effective.

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A story
The church's two-metre-thick walls were not an aesthetic choice — they were built to withstand the earthquakes that have levelled every other large colonial structure in the Central Valley. The strategy worked: this is the only colonial church in the region still standing in its original form after three centuries of seismic activity. The 20 stained glass windows were made in France and shipped to Costa Rica, a significant expense for a town of modest means at the time of their installation.