Iglesia San Francisco de Castro

Iglesia San Francisco stands on Castro's Plaza de Armas and is the most visible of Chiloé's UNESCO-listed wooden churches. Its colours are cheerful, even eccentric, but the building is one of the island's great pieces of architecture.

Step inside if it is open. The wooden vaulting and columns make the church feel warmer and stranger than a stone cathedral, and very much of this island.

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A story
From outside, Castro's main church looks almost toy-like in yellow and purple. Inside, the timber structure is the serious part: local carpenters translated European church forms into a language of native wood and boatbuilding skill.