Mission San Xavier del Bac, a historic Spanish, Catholic, Franciscan mission outside Tucson, AZ, USA

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Mission San Xavier del Bac is a historic Spanish, Catholic, Franciscan mission, founded in 1692 located about 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O'odham San Xavier Indian Reservation. Outside, San Xavier has an elegant, simple white, Moorish-inspired design, with an ornately decorated entrance. Most of the labor was provided by the local Indians, and many believe they provided most or all of the artisans as well. Visitors entering the massive, carved mesquite-wood doors of San Xavier are often struck by the coolness of the interior, and the dazzling colors of the paintings, carvings, frescoes and statues. The interior is richly decorated with ornaments showing a mixture of New Spain and Native American artistic motifs amd has been dubbed the "Sistine Chapel of North America."

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Size: 5184px × 3455px
Location: Tucson, AZ, USA
Photo credit: © Yvette Cardozo / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: america, architecture, arid, arizona, bac, catholic, christianity, church, del, desert, dry, exterior, franciscan, historic, history, indian, mission, native, north, ornate, pray, religion, reservation, san, southwest, tohono, tourism, travel, tucson, usa, xavier