LA IGLESIA EN EL CAMPO

Yep, that´s "La Iglesia en el Campo," or The Church in the Field, in English. This time I´m using the Spanish, because I think it has a much better sound to it. Back on Saturday, my friends Diego and Luisa Savignone, the caretakers of this group of oceanside cabañas I´m staying at, invited me to a big family reunion at the very impressive country estate their family owns at an agricultural community known as Codigua, which is about 80 kilometers from here, inland from the sea and about 20 kilometers from the agricultural town of Melipilla (80 km SW of Santiago). To say that this church, located out in a pasture, and with no congregation whatsoever, is an anomaly is an understatement. But what an impression it had on me when I first saw it!
Actually, the church is an exact replica of another church which exists on the Chilean island of Chiloé, about 1200 kilometers south of this estate, where this copy was built six years ago.
I am including photos of the interior of the church as well as several views of the estate, to give you a better idea of this beautiful and quite pastoral place.

This picture to the right shows the main house on the estate as viewed from the church, complete with a pasture full of horses whose owners pay to have grazing rights in these pastures.

Here are some images of the interior of the church, which show that the structure´s interior has also been replicated with an eye towards accuracy, right down to the posting of the Stations of ther Cross on the interior walls. The dark photo on the right was taken on the upper level, showing the ladder that leads up into the steeple (sorry, no church bell, however).

The image to the right shows the altar and some of the pews.

The above image shows Diego at the church, and he told me that in the winter months when there is little work at the cabañas, he spends quite a bit of time down here at Codigua, working on maintenance projects to preserve both the church and also the main ranch house as well as the guest house (seen below and to the right) and the rest of the estate.

Now, I have posted many of these pictures in "small" size in order to get them onto the blog with a minimal use of space. Remember, you can click on any one of them to view a larger image.

This last image I´ve posted here is of the pond which is also a part of the estate. There are ducks that have nests there, and the waters are stocked with trout as well.

Anyway, Saturday was a special day spent with Diego and Luisa and their family. Ther almuerzo was superb, even though everybody ate too much. But the real joy for that day was discovering such a beautiful and peaceful place, and enjoying it in such good company.