The Church of San Francisco de Asís

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Religious architecture

This church formed part of the Franciscan Convent, and was the second one on the island. The primitive church of the convent was one of the first religious buildings in the city, although is was partly ruined following the pirate attack in 1599. [...] Of the Franciscan ex-convent, the stone bell gable remains, in an isolated and precarious position, as does the church. The church has a nave with a side entrance, and at the time was the southern limit of the convent site. On either side of the nave there are a series of chapels opening out via curved arches, having been readapted as side naves at the time. A large transverse arch separates the nave from the presbytery. This nave, along with the main and side chapels have Mudejar panelling, the latter being octagonal in shape. 

A feature of the façade would be the mannerist doorway, almost proto-baroque in style. It has smooth, straight lines, with pairs of columns rising over plinths, which take in an architrave decking, frieze and cornice, rounded off at a broken frontis bearing the Franciscan coat of arms. The arch over the doorway is curved, with flat pillastres in the doorjambs and hollowed out thread. Plants are depicted over the arch spandrels and frieze. 

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